Walmart Prescription Deliveries Set To Reach Over 86% Of American Homes
Two weeks after Amazon announced it will open pharmacies in 20 new U.S. cities in 2025, Walmart introduced its prescription delivery service. Already live in six states, it is expected to be available in 49 states by the end of January.
CBS News:
Walmart Plans To Deliver Prescriptions Nationwide In As Little As 30 Minutes
Walmart will begin delivering prescriptions across the U.S. early next year, as the retailing giant strives to keep pace with rival Amazon in competing for health care dollars. Walmart's new service includes new prescriptions and refills, which customers can receive along with groceries and other products, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company announced on Tuesday. Prescriptions will be delivered in as little as 30 minutes and should be available for over 86% of American households, according to Walmart. (Gibson, 10/22)
Stat:
Novo Asks FDA To Bar Compounders From Making Semaglutide Copies
Novo Nordisk has asked the Food and Drug Administration to bar compounding pharmacies from making copies of its blockbuster weight loss drug semaglutide, arguing that the medication is too complex for the pharmacies to safely make. (Chen, 10/22)
AP:
Hospitals' IV Fluid Shortage May Impact Surgeries For Weeks
Surgery schedules around the country may be washed out for several more weeks while a crucial IV and sterile fluids factory remains shut down for hurricane-related damage. People often plan non-emergency surgeries in the fall and early-winter months when their insurance coverage will pick up more of the bill, but they may have to wait while health systems preserve supplies for emergencies. (Murphy, 10/22)
On medical marijuana and cannabis —
The Texas Tribune:
Medical Marijuana Companies Are Losing Patients To Delta-8
Jack Stinnett got life-changing news in 2020 when he learned the lump that appeared on the side of his neck was tongue and mouth cancer. He and his wife Karen quickly enrolled him at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where he underwent five and a half rounds of chemotherapy and 33 treatments of radiation. During this time, Stinnett, a Marble Falls resident, went from a reasonably healthy 60-year-old who rode his bicycle more than 60 miles daily to losing more than 100 pounds after losing his appetite and sense of taste. Then, Stinnett qualified for a medical marijuana prescription for the nerve pain he received from the cancer treatments and found the relief he needed. (Simpson, 10/23)
Reuters:
Breaking The Grass Ceiling: Pot Firms Rethink Strategy As Young Women Lead Cannabis Use
Young women are consuming more pot than men for the first time in a historic shift in the $30 billion U.S. cannabis industry, prompting companies to revamp products and step up investments. Top cannabis retailers told Reuters they've started refocusing shelf space toward products that have proved popular with women, including edibles, tinctures, topicals, and beverages, in the hopes that any resulting rise in costs will pay off in the longer term. (Roy and Bose, 10/22)
AP:
An Alabama Judge Appoints A Mediator In A Long-Running Medical Marijuana Dispute
A judge on Tuesday appointed a mediator in the long-running dispute over who gets licenses to grow and sell medical marijuana in Alabama. Montgomery Circuit Judge James Anderson named retired Circuit Judge Eugene Reese to act as mediator in the case. Anderson wrote that he believed the use of mediation “is appropriate in this case and could result in the speedy and just resolution of the dispute.” (Chandler, 10/22)
