Retail Clinics

ALEXANDRIA, Va. The Senate has passed a measure to extend the federal funding level for state Medicaid programs.

The Senate voted 61-39 for the bill, pushed by the retail pharmacy lobby and an extension of the higher federal medical assistance percentage that was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The House will vote on the measure next week, and both houses must pass the bill in identical form before it goes to president Obama’s desk.

WASHINGTON With unemployment rates remaining at an all-time high, 1-in-5 Americans chose not to seek medical care for a recent illness or injury, with 4-out-of-10 citing cost as the primary factor, according to a Deloitte Center for Health Solutions survey of more than 4,000 adults in the United States released Wednesday.

BALTIMORE WellDoc, a healthcare company that develops technology solutions to improve chronic disease management outcomes and reduce healthcare costs, on Monday announced that it has received Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance to market the WellDoc DiabetesManager System to healthcare providers and their adult patients with Type 2 diabetes.

ATLANTA The number of states with an obesity prevalence of 30% or more tripled in two years to nine states in 2009, according to a CDC Vital Signs report issued Tuesday.

In 2000, no state had an obesity prevalence of 30% or more. The report, "State-Specific Obesity Prevalence Among Adults – United States, 2009," also found no state met the nation's Healthy People 2010 goal to lower obesity prevalence to 15%.

ORLANDO, Fla. The third annual Retail Clinician Education Congress kicked off here Monday, attracting nearly 500 nurse practitioners for the two-and-a-half-day live continuing education conference for retail-based healthcare providers. Hosted by Retail Clinician magazine in conjunction with the Convenient Care Association, RCEC 2010 convened in line with the start of National Convenient Care Clinic Week, which became official last week when Sens. Dan Inouye, D-Hawaii, and Thad Cochran, D-Miss., introduced a Senate resolution.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. Actavis on Tuesday announced the reintroduction of its FeverAll acetaminophen suppositories to retail following the completion of updates to the company’s manufacturing facility.

The brand will be marketed in publications read by new parents and healthcare professionals, the company stated.

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. Take Care Health Systems has praised the designation of National Convenient Care Clinic Week by Sens. Dan Inouye, D-Hawaii, and Thad Cochran, R-Miss.

National Convenient Care Clinic Week plays out against the backdrop of the third annual Retail Clinician Education Congress, co-hosted by The Drug Store News Group/Retail Clinician magazine and the Convenient Care Association.

GREENSBORO, N.C. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a treatment for muscle spasms and twitches.