Retail Clinics

With pharmacists across the country now able to administer vaccinations, the Department of Health and Human Services’ plan came at just the right time.

FERNDALE, Wash. — Wellesse earlier this week introduced its Digestive 3-in-1 Health, a liquid supplement that promotes healthy digestion and regularity, soothes the stomach and helps the body resist occasional imbalance.

"Most people who indulge pay for it with uncomfortable, embarrassing or even tiring digestive symptoms on a regular basis," stated registered dietitian Marie Spano, speaking on behalf of Wellesse.

SAN DIEGO — The nurse practitioner-staffed retail clinic concept has sparked a revolution in health care, and now even physicians are re-examining the model to find new ways to create value and improve healthcare delivery.
 

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — MinuteClinic announced that it is offering spring sports physicals at its facilities across the country to make it easier and more affordable for children and teenagers to head to the field and participate in organized sports.

Beginning March 1 to 31, MinuteClinic will offer the pre-participation physicals, which are required by many states, school systems and athletic leagues. MinuteClinic nurse practitioners and physician assistants will offer the exams seven days a week, including weekday evenings. No appointment is necessary.

PASADENA, Calif. — Long-term use of a class of drugs used to control pain could increase the risk of erectile dysfunction in men, according to a new study.

The study, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente and published online in the Journal of Urology, found that men who took nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, three times a day for more than three months were 2.4 times as likely to have erectile dysfunction as men who didn’t take the drugs regularly. The study used data from 80,966 men ages 45 to 69 years in California.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has taken action against makers of prescription drugs for cough-cold and allergies that don’t have regulatory approval, the agency said Wednesday.

The action is part of the agency’s Unapproved Drugs Initiative, which seeks to remove from the market drugs that have not received approval. In many cases, the drugs were marketed before the FDA adopted its current regulatory standards.

WOODMERE, Ohio — Health-and-wellness retailer Max-Wellness on Tuesday announced a series of initiatives that vastly will expand the reach of the upstart company.

Among them:

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration is warning that long-term use of a class of drugs for gastroesophageal reflux disease may decrease levels of magnesium in the body and increase the risk of such side effects as seizures and heart rhythm problems, according to published reports.

The reports quoted the FDA as saying that in a quarter of cases of proton-pump inhibitors depleting magnesium from the body, use of magnesium supplements did not bring levels back to normal, and use of the drugs had to be stopped.