prescriptiondrugs

You practically have to be an accountant to manage your family's health care these days. The good news is, some lawmakers seem to recognize this and are working toward changes to one program that should be well received by employers, employees and doctors alike.

Walgreen, the leading U.S. pharmacy chain, recently increased its quarterly dividend by 28.6%, the largest increase in the company's 110-year history, from 17.5 cents a share to 22.5 cents a share. But is it giving away cash it's really going to need for its expansion plans?

Do you want your new prescription drugs to be made under last century's oversight? Like it or not, that's likely what you're getting -- or worse -- because increasingly, Americans' medicines are made overseas in place where the oversight isn't up to U.S. standards.

As part of a recent settlement agreement, Par Pharmaceutical Cos. will pay $1.7 million to resolve the state of Idaho's charges that the company inflated their numbers -- once by more than 3,000 percent -- when reporting the wholesale prices of its drugs to the state. The issue is a critical one...

More than two million poisonings are reported each year to the 61 nationwide Poison Control Centers, and almost all happen in the home -- with children under six most often the victims of non-fatal incidents. Most poisonings happen when parents or caregivers are home but not paying attention, the...

In December, I wrote about the drug maker Pfizer offering free prescription drugs to people who lost their jobs and health coverage in 2009. After that, I got an e-mail from a James Walker at APCO Worldwide, Pfizer's public-relations firm, that the company is extending the measure through 2010.

Gift card offers to transfer prescriptions are heating up again. In the past month I've received three offers through the mail for a $25 gift card if I transfer a prescription. This latest offer has a printable online coupon for a prescription transfer bonus at Kmart. You can get a $25 Kmart gift...

Social Security is using Chubby Checker to help promote an expanded "Extra Help" program for one million more seniors who need assistance to be able to afford their prescription drugs. Seniors who were rejected for Extra Help in the past should reapply to see if they meet the new requirements....

Advocates for lower cost health care have for some time argued that arming consumers with data about the costs of medical procedures would help drive down prices. Insurers, however, have kept a tight lid on what they pay doctors and other health care providers, arguing that such information is...

When Wal-Mart first lowered the price of certain generic prescription drugs to $4 for a 30-day supply, consumers wondered how they could do it. Wouldn't they lose money? Of course they would lose money on the prescription, but the master of merchandising knew they'd more than make up for those...