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INSIGHTS AND PERSPECTIVES

  • Gas price hike could damper retailer-consumer relationship

    WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — Analysts already are speculating dire outcomes if the price of a gallon of gas eclipses $5 this summer on account of Middle East turmoil today. Any additional strains on the supply chain system, such as increased operational costs as high as 20%, would only make matters worse.

    (THE NEWS: Rising gas prices not only factor driving supply chain costs. For the full story, click here)

  • Gene mutation, Type 2 diabetes linked in study

    CATANZARO, Italy — A new study revealed that a single gene mutation might be the cause of Type 2 diabetes.

  • Tomorrow's healthcare retailing game gets new name

    WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — The name of the game for tomorrow’s successful healthcare retailer is ubiquity — because it’s no longer good enough to have the better corner location or the splashiest of websites; tomorrow’s healthcare retailer will need to be able to interact with its patient whenever, however and wherever that patient happens to be at the time.

  • NSAIDs could pose erectile dysfunction risk among men

    PASADENA, Calif. — Long-term use of a class of drugs used to control pain could increase the risk of erectile dysfunction in men, according to a new study.

    The study, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente and published online in the Journal of Urology, found that men who took nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, three times a day for more than three months were 2.4 times as likely to have erectile dysfunction as men who didn’t take the drugs regularly. The study used data from 80,966 men ages 45 to 69 years in California.

  • Report: FDA warns of long-term PPI use

    SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration is warning that long-term use of a class of drugs for gastroesophageal reflux disease may decrease levels of magnesium in the body and increase the risk of such side effects as seizures and heart rhythm problems, according to published reports.

    The reports quoted the FDA as saying that in a quarter of cases of proton-pump inhibitors depleting magnesium from the body, use of magnesium supplements did not bring levels back to normal, and use of the drugs had to be stopped.

  • Study: Physicians more likely to prescribe Rxs with adherence incentives

    NEW YORK — Physicians are 30% more likely to prescribe a drug that gives patients incentives to remain adherent to it than they are to prescribe a drug without such a program, according to a new survey.

    The survey of 100 doctors, sponsored by HealthPrize Technologies and conducted by pharmaceutical marketing firm HealthcarePanel.org, also found 89% of doctors were comfortable with the idea of rewarding patients for adherence, along with using education.

  • NPD: Prestige beauty sales rise after years of decline

    PORT WASHINGTON — After years of declines, U.S. prestige beauty experienced a boost in 2010, with skin care proving yet again to be the strongest performer, according to beauty market research conducted by the NPD Group.

    The market research company stated that U.S. prestige beauty generated $8.4 billion in 2010, up 4%, compared with $8.19 billion in 2009.

  • Express Scripts finds generic antidepressant users as adherent as brand-name counterparts

    ST. LOUIS — Patients who take generic antidepressants will remain as adherent as those who take brand-name drugs to treat the condition, according to a new study.

    The study, conducted by Express Scripts and published in the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy, found patients starting generic selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and generic selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors had a discontinuation rate of 44.2%, compared with 46.8% among those on brand-name SSRIs and SNRIs.

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