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Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement planned by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia

According to an Australian Financial Review report the major pharmaceutical companies have agreed to reduce the Australian government’s medicine bill by AUD $2 billion over the next four years only if they are assured of price modifications in future. The details of the agreement are to be revealed next week and experts believe it will reduce the burden on the federal budget which is still considering the source of funds to pay for its health reform package.

4 May 2010

CVS Caremark's net revenues increase $366M to $23.8 billion for first-quarter 2010

CVS Caremark Corporation, today announced revenues, operating profit, and net income for the three months ended March 31, 2010.

4 May 2010

Merck reports non-GAAP EPS of $0.83 for first-quarter 2010

Merck & Co., Inc. today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2010. The company reported non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) earnings per share (EPS) for the first quarter of $0.83, which excludes purchase accounting adjustments, merger-related expenses and restructuring costs, as well as a tax charge related to the recently enacted health care reform legislation. First-quarter GAAP EPS was $0.09.

4 May 2010

Health care practitioners call for national database to crack down on prescription drug abuse

The Associated Press reports on efforts in California, where "a state online drug database went into effect last year to thwart addicts who bounce from doctor to doctor to feed a habit or make a small fortune peddling meds" and efforts to set up a national program "to snare so-called doctor shoppers and curb drug abuse.

3 May 2010

California community health centers face potentially crippling budget cuts

North Bay (Santa Rosa, Calif.) Business Journal: "While community health centers are widely seen as winners with the passage of a sweeping health bill in late March, such centers in California face potentially crippling state budget cuts, which could offset potential gains that won't take effect until 2014, according to clinic directors throughout the North Bay.

3 May 2010

Pfizer to maintain top spot in prescription sales through mergers and acquisitions

The rheumatoid arthritis treatment Humira will replace Lipitor as the world's biggest-selling drug in 2016, but a familiar name, Pfizer, will still be the biggest seller of medicines after the patent cliff according to the World Preview 2016 report published today by EvaluatePharma, the premier provider of pharma and biotech analysis.

3 May 2010

Schwarzenegger expresses support for health law while Reid uses reform as campaign issue

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Thursday announced his support of the health reform law, even as other Republicans around the United States look for ways to roll back the measure's reach.

3 May 2010

Codeine containing preparations lose their OTC status

It will get more difficult to procure Codeine based pain killers, cough syrups etc. from the local pharmacists from now on. There have been new restrictions over codeine based drugs like Nurofen Plus, Panadeine and Mersyndol which were initially sold over the counter but lost this OTC status with effect from May 1st 2010. The National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee formulated the changes during meetings in June and October last year.

2 May 2010

Officials face challenges in writing new health law regulations

Obama administration officials face a "monumental task" in writing new regulations to the health care law while keeping one eye on public perception ahead of November's midterm elections.

30 Apr 2010

ISTA Pharmaceuticals first-quarter net revenues up 39%

ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2010. First quarter 2010 net revenues were $28.3 million, an increase of 39% from the first quarter of 2009. Net income for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010, was $0.5 million, or $0.01 per share, compared to a net loss of $19.6 million, or $0.59 per share, for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009.

30 Apr 2010

Bristol-Myers Squibb reports 11% increase in first-quarter 2010 revenue

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today reported strong sales and earnings growth for the first quarter of 2010.

30 Apr 2010

HealthSpring's first-quarter premium revenue up 18.1% to $749.4 million

HealthSpring, Inc. today announced its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

29 Apr 2010

New MDC tool provides alternative choices to user's current prescription drugs

Healthcare reform legislation has enacted changes that will significantly affect the Medicare Part D prescription drug program. The most immediate impact of the reform aims to close the "donut hole", a component of the benefit design in which seniors must pay the full cost for their drugs themselves.

29 Apr 2010

Cancer-related expenditures increase faster than any other area of health care: JAMA

From 1999 through 2006 the use of diagnostic imaging for Medicare patients with cancer increased, with use of positron emission tomography increasing the most significantly, according to a study in the April 28 issue of JAMA. Imaging costs for these patients also increased, outpacing the rate of increase in total costs among Medicare beneficiaries with cancer.

28 Apr 2010

Costs, effects on business questioned as health overhaul analysis continues

The Associated Press: The biggest unanswered question in the health overhaul debate remains what the new law will mean for ordinary Americans. "Many experts believe the law falls short on taming costs, and that will force Congress to revisit health care in a few years.

27 Apr 2010

AHRQ releases Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit

Several studies have found that a majority of American adults have trouble with basic health literacy tasks such as reading and understanding prescription drug labels and following their doctors' instructions correctly.

26 Apr 2010

General Dynamics Information Technology awarded task order to support HHS' CMS

General Dynamics Information Technology's VIPS business sector, a business unit of General Dynamics, has been awarded a task order to support the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

26 Apr 2010

Humana reports first-quarter EPS of $1.52

Humana Inc. today reported diluted earnings per common share (EPS) for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 (1Q10) of $1.52, ahead of management's guidance of $1.10 to $1.20. EPS for 1Q10 included earnings of approximately $0.37 per share from higher-than-anticipated favorable prior-period development of medical claims reserves as well as $0.04 per share in higher-than-projected income tax expense due to recently enacted health reform legislation. Excluding these items, 1Q10 EPS was at the top end of the company's previous guidance range.

26 Apr 2010

Expected impact of recently enacted U.S. Health Care Reform legislation

Merck & Co., Inc. today provided information on the expected impact of the recently enacted U.S. Health Care Reform legislation.

24 Apr 2010

CMS actuary: Health reform will cover more people, cost more than originally projected

"In the first comprehensive look by neutral experts" of the health law, The Associated Press reports that "More Americans will be covered, but costs are also going up. Economic experts at the Health and Human Services Department concluded in a report issued Thursday that the health care remake will achieve Obama's aim of expanding health insurance — adding 34 million to the coverage rolls.

24 Apr 2010