In this Issue

As interest in telehealth options increases, so too does the diversification of the services offered through telehealth providers. Both patients and telehealth companies are looking at behavioral health as the next frontier in remote care. In its look at the biggest health industry issues of 2016, PricewaterhouseCooper’s Health Research Institute found that 72% of 18- to 44-year-olds and 43% of those older than 45 years would be willing to use telehealth services to consult with a mental health provider instead of an in-person visit.

While Americans are redefining what it means to age well and stay healthy, many adults 50 years and over are still feeling the effects of aging. AARP earlier this year surveyed 1,480 Americans ages 50 years and older, and found that while a majority see themselves in good health, 1-in-2 reported that they wished they had more strength or energy to participate in the activities that they enjoy.

With medication nonadherence estimated to cost the U.S. healthcare system anywhere between $100 billion and $300 billion dollars, according to the National Institutes of Health, pharmacy technology companies are looking to create tools that pharmacists can implement to help patients be more adherent, saving the health system money and improving patient health in the process.

The underlying economics of health care going forward, where providers are incentivized to manage better health outcomes even as the cost burden continues to shift to the consumer, will favor retail pharmacy in the coming decade, suggested Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, health economist for Think Health.

ALBANY, Ore. — At this year’s NACDS Total Store Expo, Tec Laboratories is introducing a new Licefreee Kit that includes a gel, a patented nit comb and a maintenance shampoo that will retail for a suggested $24.99. “Parents like the idea of having something to use after they’ve treated for lice,” noted Larry Burris, national sales manager at Tec Laboratories.

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“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” last year lampooned the allergy industry for claiming that 2015 was the “worst allergy season ever.” Just as 2014 was the “worst season” before that, and 2013 the “worst season” before that. And on and on as far back as 2008.

As millennials have cemented themselves as the largest generation by population at 75.4 million, outnumbering baby boomers for the first time, the retail industry has been inundated with insights about their shopping habits.

According to Kantar Retail’s Nicole Santosuosso, the uptick in information and insights about millennials has obfuscated the ways millennials are ushering in fundamental changes in how all consumers shop.

PARKER, Colo. — Private labels combined to be the fifth-largest “brand” in lip balm, according to IRI. Private-label volume has grown more than 25% over the past two years.