Retail Clinics

COLUMBIA, Mo. — A new tool developed by researchers at the University of Missouri improved both the efficiency and accuracy of acquiring data needed for high-quality diabetes care, according to a new study.

NEW YORK — Pfizer is looking to sell its top-selling cholesterol drug directly to consumers at a greatly reduced price after the patent expires, according to published reports.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Pfizer would partner with health plans to sell Lipitor (atorvastatin) directly to consumers through the mail when the drug's patent expires at the end of the month, opening the drug to generic competition.

NEW YORK — A test commonly used to identify patients with diabetes or those at risk of developing the condition may not produce accurate results among children, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan.

The study, published online ahead of print in the journal Diabetes Care, tested 254 overweight children using both fasting and nonfasting methods. Researchers found that the recommended test, hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C), missed more cases of prediabetes or diabetes, compared with other tests.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — PharmaCline has launched a topical antibiotic for prediabetes and diabetes patients that is designed to treat minor cuts, scrapes and burns.

Diabecline, the company said, is an over-the-counter antibiotic that targets the source of infection through site-specific penetration technology.

"Our Diabecline antibiotic allows users who are at greater risk of developing serious infections to achieve better care," PharmaCline CEO Steve Keough said.

MINNETONKA, Minn. — A UnitedHealth Group company announced its plans to acquire a sponsor of Medicare Advantage health plans in an all-cash transaction.

NEW YORK — The use of retail-based health clinics increased tenfold between 2007 and 2009, and, if the trends continue, health plans can expect to see a dramatic boost in retail clinic utilization, based on the findings of a new Rand Corp. study.

“It is clear that enrollees are ‘voting with their feet’ and that retail clinics are meeting an unmet need for simple acute care and/or addressing a shortage of traditional healthcare providers,” according to the American Journal of Managed Care, which published the study.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The recent approval of a 10% reimbursement rate cut in California’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has prompted provider groups to file a lawsuit against the California Department of Healthcare Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, alleging that the cuts did not follow proper legal channels.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Almost one-third of Americans who have not had enough money to pay for health care and/or medicine in the past 12 months are smokers, according to the October 2011 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. The percentage of smokers is cut in half (14.2%) when it comes to the population that can afford to pay for health care and/or medicine in the past 12 months. Of the Americans without a personal doctor, 27.5% smoke.