HEALTH

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Online retailer Drugstore.com said it would offer free shipping to military and foreign service addresses for the holidays.

Orders placed by Dec. 3 on Drugstore.com and its sister site, Beauty.com, for $49 or more will receive free shipping with arrival by Dec. 24 when sent to APO/FPO/DPO addresses. The company was motivated to do the promotion as its customers in the military and foreign service have said it is difficult to find essential products when they are far away from home.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. With the holiday season just around the corner, CVS/pharmacy is encouraging older adults and their caregivers to make family health part of the conversation during family gatherings.

With annual enrollment for Medicare Part D under way through Dec. 31, now is the ideal time for seniors and their caregivers to review their medication regimen and identify ways to save on annual medication costs, the company stated.

CHICAGO — A social media go-to-market strategy is fast becoming a must-have for companies these days, especially those companies operating in the healthcare arena. It’s no longer enough to push patient education out through a branded online page, not with the growing prominence of social media sites. Today, companies need to seed that education across Facebook and Twitter and/or actively engage bloggers and heavy users to successfully get that education out to the masses online.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — There is a direct correlation between the amount of a patient's out-of-pocket co-pay and prescription abandonment, according to the findings of a CVS Caremark-sponsored study published this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The study also found that e-prescriptions are more likely to be abandoned at retail compared with handwritten prescriptions.

MADISON, N.J. Pfizer Consumer Healthcare on Tuesday announced it will be supporting its Advil Congestion Relief launch with a text-driven sweepstakes across five metropolitan areas, including Atlanta; Grapevine, Texas; Jersey City, N.J.; Orland Park, Ill.; and Pleasanton, Calif. As many as 100 sweepstake winners will be awarded the services of a personal shopper for use on Black Friday, providing “literal congestion relief” on one of the most congested holiday shopping days.

BALTIMORE — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Tuesday formally established the new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

Established by the Affordable Care Act, the Innovation Center is charged with finding new ways of delivering health care and paying healthcare providers in an effort to save money for Medicare and Medicaid while improving the quality of care. CMS also announced the launch of new demonstration projects that will support efforts to better coordinate care and improve health outcomes for patients.

JERUSALEM — An investigative treatment for allergies made by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries appears to work, according to results of a late-stage clinical trial released Monday.

Teva said phase-3 data from a study of Qnaze HFA (beclomethasone dipropionate), designed to be inhaled through the nose, was effective in treating patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis, while safety results were similar to those for placebo. Data from the study were presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in Phoenix.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Food Marketing Institute on Tuesday announced the appointment of Susan Borra as SVP communications for the nation’s largest food retail trade association, effective Dec. 1.