In this Issue



It appears that even the “King of All Media” Howard Stern gets his news from Drug Store News. Traffic on the site spiked in late December when a DrugStoreNews.com story made it into Stern sidekick Robin Quivers’ daily news broadcast during the Thursday, Dec. 16 show. The Stern Web page also linked to the story under the “It’s Time for Robin’s News” section in the rundown for the satellite radio program’s show (“Use lanolin on your cracked nipples” at HowardStern.com/Rundown.hs).


According to the Calorie Control Council, an international association representing the low-calorie and reduced-fat food and beverage industry, a focus on weight-gain prevention will help shape dieting attitudes in 2011. And newly released dietary guidelines from the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services urge people to eat more fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, foods with omega-3 fatty acids and low-calorie dairy products.


Dry-All smart phone drying kit


WOONSOCKET, R.I. — The next chapter for CVS Caremark officially is under way. The company last month officially named Larry Merlo CEO, effective March 1. Tom Ryan will remain nonexecutive chairman until his retirement in May. Prior to the news, Merlo had been president and COO.

Pharmacy and health policy advocates endlessly tout the cost-saving 
benefits of improved medication adherence. In January, CVS Caremark put more teeth into that argument with some dramatic new findings that should get the attention of every health plan payer.


Just when you thought the low end of the generic drug price spectrum couldn’t get any more commoditized, the $2 price point debuted with a big splash in September 2010.


Walgreens generated quite 
the fanfare in January when it announced free blood-pressure screenings across its pharmacies and Take Care Clinics on the “Oprah Winfrey Show.”


BETHESDA, Md. — It’s technology, and lots of it, that will be relieving the burden of caregiving for today’s sandwich generation — those baby boomers faced with caring for their senior parents while at the same time managing a teenager at home.


A new survey released last month by the National Alliance for Caregiving and UnitedHealthcare found that more than two-thirds of family caregivers are interested in technology to help them with caregiving.