RETAIL NEWS

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT After more than a year that spawned bitter debate, a tea party, a growing divide in Congress and a never-ending clash of ideas, charges, countercharges and soul-searching about the role of government and deficit spending, healthcare reform is law.

NEW YORK An article featured on MedPageToday.com picks up on the expansion of clinic services offered at retail health clinics, underscoring the importance of nurse practitioners and entry into the role in chronic disease management.

"We're evolving our clinic offerings, from episodic treatment to looking at how do we get more chronic disease management, how do we do more prevention, how do we do more screening?" Sandra Ryan, chief nurse practitioner officer for Take Care Health Systems, was quoted as saying.

SAN ANTONIO An opinion piece written for the San Antonio Express-News urges health reform in Texas and the need for nurse practitioners to be "given the right to diagnose and prescribe on their own," as done in retail clinics.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT A bill that would prohibit federal PBM contracts with companies that operate both a PBM and retail pharmacies not only has sparked debate but, if passed, could be a blow to the vertically integrated pharmacy-PBM model.

(THE NEWS: Bill would prohibit federal PBM contracts with companies operating PBMs, retail pharmacies. For the full story, click here)