In this Issue

As critics of the Affordable Care Act continue to grumble about how the law has adversely affected much of the nation’s healthcare system, consultant and Foundation for Health Smart Consumers fellow Mike Tarino said that giving people more control over how their healthcare dollars are spent could help quiet the critics and put what many see as a failing reform plan back on track.

“One-in-4 people over age 45 in the United States is chronically lonely.”

CAMBRIDGESHIRE, U.K. — Swiss oral care brand Curaprox has launched an all-natural whitening toothpaste that removes discoloration by using activated carbon without eroding or bleaching the enamel. Black is White toothpaste contains enzymes that protect against tooth decay and support salivary functions. It also remineralizes tooth enamel and seals exposed dentine channels. The toothpaste comes with a toothbrush and has an SRP of $29.95.

As pharmacies fill more prescriptions, while also needing to provide specialty clinical services, pharmacy technology company ScriptPro is positioning itself as a provider of solutions that will ease common pain points that come with increased script volume and the influx of paperwork from clinical services. ScriptPro’s CEO Mike Coughlin shared two forthcoming innovations from the company with Drug Store News, one of which addresses pharmacy documentation needs, and the other of which will help with pain points in the will-call process.

Walmart’s Annie Walker

How can retailers and manufacturers work together to not only be partners in managing consumers’ disease states, but also to help educate a new generation about the importance of prevention? This was the driving question a panel of leading consumer health executives tackled in June, at a special one-day thought leadership conference in Bentonville, Ark., co-hosted by Drug Store News and Mack Elevation Forum.

Lovepop Cards, a Harvard-based greeting card start-up, landed a $300,000 investment from investor Kevin O’Leary, on ABC’s “Shark Tank” TV show in December. Every card design starts as a sketch on paper that is translated to a modeling software, in which each shape is drawn. Those shapes are then transferred to a software that routs a laser-cutter to cut out each piece. Since January, the company has had about 40,000 customers and will do roughly $1 million in sales this year, according to the company.

Having been around for 39 years, Spartanburg, S.C.-based pharmacy solutions company QS/1 has seen the pharmacy business change several times, all the while providing tools to help pharmacies navigate the changes and provide services to their patients. As pharmacy shifts its focus to outcomes and implements more clinical services, QS/1 knows that its latest solution will be able to assist in managing the increasing amount of documents pharmacies deal with on a daily basis.

One disconnect Bausch + Lomb’s John Ferris sees in the conversation about health care is the relative lack of attention paid to eye health — even though age-related macular degeneration affects two-and-a-half times more people than Alzheimer’s disease, and baby boomers are as concerned about vision loss as contracting heart disease and cancer.