Retail Clinics

NEW YORK The World Health Organization's director-general Margaret Chan issued a statement on Tuesday that the H1N1 influenza has entered the post-pandemic period, but warned that the virus has not yet gone away.

While WHO has reported marginal levels of H1N1 transmission worldwide as of late, Chan said it expects the H1N1 virus to take on the behavior of a seasonal influenza virus and continue to circulate for some years to come.

IRVINGTON, N.Y. Prestige Brands has expanded its Little Remedies product line with a new analgesic for infants, toddlers and children.

New Little Fevers is concentrated infant drops with acetaminophen and indicated for the treatment of temporary fever and minor aches and pains which may be associated with the common cold, flu, headache, sore throat or toothache. The product is specially formulated to provide small concentrated doses for easier administration, Presitge Brands said.

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. A company that develops healthcare and information management products has applied for a patent for an insulin-pen tracking and recording device.

SAN ANTONIO Drug maker Mission Pharmacal has launched a treatment for urinary tract infections.

Mission announced the launch of Uribel (methenamine, sodium phosphate monobasic, phenyl salicylate, methylene blue and hyoscyamine sulfave) capsules, used to relieve local discomfort and inflammation associated with lower urinary tract infections, interstitial cystitis, painful bladder syndrome and urinary tract procedures.

CHICAGO A group that promotes education and awareness around diabetes is calling on the government and private insurers to use diabetes education as a cost-saving strategy.

The American Association of Diabetes Educators hopes to provide diabetes self-management training to patients with prediabetes and recommended that private insurers and Medicare include it as a covered benefit.

WASHINGTON With unemployment rates remaining at an all-time high, 1-in-5 Americans chose not to seek medical care for a recent illness or injury, with 4-out-of-10 citing cost as the primary factor, according to a Deloitte Center for Health Solutions survey of more than 4,000 adults in the United States released Wednesday.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. The Senate has passed a measure to extend the federal funding level for state Medicaid programs.

The Senate voted 61-39 for the bill, pushed by the retail pharmacy lobby and an extension of the higher federal medical assistance percentage that was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The House will vote on the measure next week, and both houses must pass the bill in identical form before it goes to president Obama’s desk.

ATLANTA The number of states with an obesity prevalence of 30% or more tripled in two years to nine states in 2009, according to a CDC Vital Signs report issued Tuesday.

In 2000, no state had an obesity prevalence of 30% or more. The report, "State-Specific Obesity Prevalence Among Adults – United States, 2009," also found no state met the nation's Healthy People 2010 goal to lower obesity prevalence to 15%.