HEALTH

NEW YORK In an effort to further expand its retail-based clinic business, Walgreens' Take Care Health Systems reportedly is considering financial joint ventures with hospitals, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report.

"We're getting a lot of interest from hospital systems," Take Care Health Systems CEO Peter Miller told Down Jones Newswires in an interview.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Once again, government seems to be mangling the delicate balance among pharmacies, generic drug suppliers and consumers. Ontario lawmakers and health “reformers” are doing it the old-fashioned way: by seeking short-term cost cuts at the expense of long-term savings.

(THE NEWS: Shoppers Drug Mart responds to Ontario's revised generic pricing rules. For the full story, click here)

ALEXANDRIA, Va. An article published in the New England Journal of Medicine underscored the importance of medication adherence and its ability to lower costs and improve the lives of patients.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The fact that CVS Caremark presented research highlighting the benefits that pharmacy benefit management tools can have on improving medication adherence is important on several different levels.

(THE NEWS: CVS Caremark research highlights methods for improving medication adherence. For the full story, click here)

BUFFALO, W.Va. Take Care Health Systems has expanded its partnership with Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia by managing a new on-site healthcare center at Toyota's Buffalo, W.Va., plant, according to reports.

The employer-based clinic, operated by Take Care Health Systems, will provide acute, episodic, urgent and occupational care, as well as wellness, prevention and disease management services. According to reports, the automaker invested about $150,000 in the 1,000-sq.-ft. clinic.