The decline and fall of pharmaceutical spending…short- or long-term phenomenon?

By on May 14, 2013 in Behavior change, Bio/life sciences, Business and health, Cancer, Chronic care, Chronic disease, Health care marketing, Health Consumers, Health Economics, Pharmacy, Prescription drugs

The prescription drug cost curve is bending…for the time being. Spending on medicines fell by 3.5% in 2012 and will continue to fall below overall health spending over the next five years to 2017. But different from general health spending, there’s a new game in town called specialty medicines, and they cost a whole lot [...]

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Marketing Digital Health to Mom 2.0 on Mother’s Day 2013

By on May 12, 2013 in Behavior change, Complementary and alternative medicine, Connected health, Consumer-directed health, Design and health, Digital health, Exercise, Fitness, Food and health, Health and Beauty, Health at home, Health care marketing, Health Consumers, Health engagement, Health marketing, Healthcare DIY, HealthcareDIY, Heart health, media and health, Moms and health, Nutrition, Obesity, Pharmacy, Popular culture and health, Prevention and wellness, Public health, Retail health, Sensors and health, Supply chain, Welness, Women and health

Mainstream media, both print and online, peppered their 2013 Mother’s Day gift suggestions including pod coffeemakers, bangle bracelets, candy-colored accessories and digital health devices. Say, what? In Parade magazine, Mother’s Day 2013 gift ideas included the Fitbit “smart pedometer,” linked to a “buy” site at REI. You can’t get much more mainstream than Parade. In [...]

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Americans feeling more financially insecure

By on May 10, 2013 in Affordable Care Act, Aging, Employers, Health benefits, Health care marketing, Health Economics, Health insurance, Health insurance exchanges, Health insurance marketplaces, Health literacy, Health Plans, Health reform, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, PPACA

One in three workers does not feel financially secure. The proportion of Americans who feel “not at all secure” grew to 16% from 12% between 2011 and 2012, based on the question, “When it comes to paying your bills and keeping up with living expenses, how financially secure do you feel these days?” Women are much [...]

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Call it DTH, direct to home: Pfizer is shipping Viagra direct to consume

By on May 8, 2013 in Baby Boomers and Health, Consumer-directed health, Health at home, Health care marketing, Health Consumers, Health Economics, Healthcare DIY, HealthcareDIY, media and health, Pharmaceutical, Pharmacy, Popular culture and health, Prescription drugs

While the blockbuster erectile dysfunction (ED) drug Viagra has been shipped directly to consumer’s homes for years via pharmacy benefits management companies and specialty pharmacy retailers catering to the ED segment, Pfizer wants in on the transaction and has decided to get into the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) distribution business for a prescription drug. Call this market [...]

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A physical activity shortage: Let’s Move!

By on May 6, 2013 in Chronic disease, Depression, Design and health, Diabetes, Exercise, Financial health, Fitness, Food and health, Health at home, Health care marketing, Health Consumers, Health disparities, Health Economics, Health engagement, Health literacy, Health marketing, Health social networks, Healthcare DIY, HealthcareDIY, Heart health, media and health, Money and health, Noncommunicable disease, Obesity, Patient engagement, Popular culture and health, Prevention and wellness, Public health, Welness, Women and health

Only 1 in 5 Americans got the minimum recommended amount of physical activity in 2011, based on guidelines offered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. More men than women met the standard: 23.4% of men versus 17.9% of women. There are wide variations across the 50 states, as the map shows, with the healthiest [...]

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