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C h a i n D r u g s t o r e D a i l y Tu e s d a y, A u g u s t 1 3 , 2 0 1 3 4 The U.S. health system is undergoing dramatic changes initiated by and accel- erating with the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Eliminating inefficiencies and wasteful spending in the U.S. healthcare system, while improving the quality of care and treatment outcomes, are priori- ties of the healthcare reform. Healthcare costs caused by improper and unnecessary use of medicines exceeded $200 billion in 2012, according to IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics. This amount is equal to 8 percent of the nation's healthcare spend- ing, and would be sufficient to pay for the healthcare of more than 24 million cur- rently uninsured citizens. Avoidable costs arise when patients fail to receive the right medications at the right time or in the right way, or receive them but fail to take them prop- erly. Per the IMS Institute, responsible use of medicines can eliminate at least $213 billion in avoidable costs by addressing six key areas, or "levers" of opportunity: non-adherence, delayed evidence-based treatment practice, antibiotic misuse, medication errors, mismanaged polypharmacy, and subop- timal generic use. Even though these avoidable costs are significant, encouraging progress is being made in addressing some of the challenges that drive wasteful spending. Medication adherence in three of the most prevalent chronic diseases– h y p e r t e n s i o n , hyperlipidemia, and diabetes– has improved since 2009 by 3 percent. The proportion of patients diagnosed with a cold or the flu (both viral infections that do not respond to antibiotics) who inap- propriately received antibiotic prescrip- tions has fallen from 20 percent to 6 per- cent since 2007. And, for diseases where lower-cost generic medications are avail- able, use of generics reached 95 percent in 2012. Such improvements are possible only through collaboration among mul- tiple healthcare stakeholders: providers, pharmacists, patients, pay- ers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and policymakers. As the one of the most active stakeholders, pharmacists are IMS DISCUSSES AVOIDABLE COSTS IN U.S. HEALTHCARE THE NEW ACTAVIS: STRENGTH IN KEY FIRST-TO-MARKET GENERICS LAUNCHES AND FIRST-TO-FILE PIPELINE The new Actavis (NYSE:ACT) is a mar- riage of two industry leaders – Watson Pharmaceuticals with its exceptional strength in the U.S., and Actavis Group with its broad market-leading presence in key global markets. The result is the world's third largest generics manufac- turer and here in the U.S., a company with an even stronger ability to deliver key first-to-market launches for cus- tomers and patients and a robust pipeline of first-to-files. To deliver value for its customers, the new Actavis draws from Watson's histo- ry of execution on key first-to-market launches, including recent generic ver- sions of the blockbuster Concerta ® and Lipitor ® drugs and important upcoming product launches. For example, in September 2013 the company will launch lidocaine topical patch 5 percent, the generic equivalent to Endo's Lidoderm ® . This competitive strength is driven Continued on Page 52 Continued on Page 50 Lee M. Oser CEO and Editor-in-Chief Lyle Sapp Senior Associate Publisher Director of Sales Kate Seymour Senior Associate Publisher Kim Forrester Jeff Rosano Associate Publishers Lorrie Baumann Editorial Director Hayden Neeley Senior Associate Editor Kristina Harris Associate Editor Yasmine Brown Graphic Designer Ruth Haltiwanger Margarite Marquez Traffic Managers Enrico Cecchi European Sales Chain Drugstore Daily is published by Oser Communications Group ©2013. All rights reserved. Executive and editorial offices at: 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300/Fax: 520.721.6300 www.oser.com European offices located at Lungarno Benvenuto Cellini, 11, 50125 Florence, Italy. AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION NOT AFFILIATED WITH NACDS