Retail Clinics

NEW YORK — Healthcare reform has remained a major subject of debate since President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act last March, but what the law means for diabetes care was the particular focus of a conference call with diabetes stakeholders Tuesday.

NEW YORK — Sunbow has announced the launch of a new sunscreen line for children called Sunbow Sunscreen, as well as a new website to offer parents a resource for sun protection.

Featuring proprietary formulas with natural ingredients, this new collection is comprised of seven SKUs formulated with micronized zinc oxide formulas to provide an UVA/UVB barrier, without such chemical actives as oxybenzone or octinoxate.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Water Pik, a maker of personal healthcare products, has announced the launch of its new Waterpik water flosser for kids.

The tool features new water flosser technology and, according to the manufacturer, is proven to be up to twice as effective as traditional floss. Recent studies show that it removes 99.9% of plaque from treated areas and is more than three times as effective as string floss for cleaning around braces.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The 2011 allergy season is expected to be 27 days longer in the northernmost parts of North America, adding almost a month of suffering to the typical pollen allergy season of February through October, a study published Tuesday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences determined.

NEW YORK — A diabetes education program developed by Johns Hopkins researchers significantly improved long-term blood-sugar control among patients.

AMITYVILLE, N.Y. — The Food and Drug Administration has granted tentative approval to a generic antibiotic made by Hi-Tech Pharmacal, the drug maker said Friday.

Hi-Tech announced the tentative approval of levofloxacin oral solution in the 25 mg-per-mL strength. The drug is used to treat mild, moderate and severe bacterial infections in adults.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Health and Human Services on Friday launched two plans aimed at reducing health disparities.

“For the first time, the United States has a coordinated road map designed to give everyone the chance to live a healthy life,” stated HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “We all need to work together to combat this persistent problem so that we can build healthier communities and a stronger nation.”

WOONSOCKET, R.I., and OAK BROOK, Ill. — CVS Caremark's retail-based clinic operator, MinuteClinic, has entered into a clinical affiliation with Advocate Health Care and Advocate Physician Partners to enhance the healthcare services provided to patients in communities throughout Chicagoland and central Illinois. The deal marks the largest clinical collaboration between a regional health system and MinuteClinic based on number of in-store clinic locations.