Pharmacists viewed as the most 'trustworthy sources' for medical information

A recent survey resulted in a majority of the respondents found pharmacists to be the most trustworthy sources for health and medical information issues.

The survey was conducted by the non-profit Charlton Research Company and funded by Research! America and Eli Lilly. Of the 1,000 participants in the poll, 83% rated pharmacists as "trustworthy," compared with 82% for patient groups, 79% for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 78% for healthcare providers.

Pharmacists have a long history of being the most easily available and having the most educational value for consumers to speak to regarding their well needs.

Pharmacists OnLine® assists in continuing the legacy of your profession by providing thousands of pages of health, wellness, drugs, interactions and wellness content on the RxWeb Genius® web presence. Visit www.PharmacistsOnLine.com

Over 1,000 Attend the Armada Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas

As the specialty pharmacy continues to be a distinct class, executives of all branches and areas of pharmacy attended the sixth annual summit to discuss the state of business.

The summit addressed some of the top concerns of the industry with a spending growth that is 3.5 times faster than traditional pharmacy spending. While specialty pharmacy costs run 6-11 times more than traditional pharmacy, there is a continued shift in reimbursement with a significant increase in the number of plans that use just one specialty pharmacy service; with a decrease in those that use three or more.

Forrester Reports: Customer Experience Skills Are Critical to Success.

In the era of Adaptive Marketing, mass media is no longer the foundation of marketing communications. What takes its place? A holistic experience comprised of traditional and interactive marketing, Web sites, and blogs that builds communities and encourages participation from consumers. To find partners equipped to conceive, create, and measure these experiences, customer experience professionals must take an active role in agency selection and partnership, helping choose and then working with partners that are skilled in the three I's: ideas, interaction, and intelligence.

Pharmacists OnLine® is the partner your pharmacy needs for a web presence that offers a rich and inviting site filled with marketing tools and information to attract your customers and patients. Your site should have the ability to change as your pharmacy needs change. Call 1-866-312-8324 for an online tour.

Continued, next column.

Private Label Sales Spells Success for Stores & Customers

Customers seeking a good deal in a weak economy are looking no further than private-label brands, according to a recent report by Nielsen.

In his report "Store Brands Flex Muscle in Weak Economy," Nielsen's SVP consumer and shopper insights Todd Hale said U.S. store brands have garnered more sales, including a 17.3% of share dollars, in addition to 21.9% share of units by March 2010 -- up 2.1 and 1.9 points, respectively, since 2007.

Additionally, the customer profiles driving such sales are not who you think. Hale said both young women and middle-class families represent those customers seeking more bang for their buck. And with tiered offerings, including organic and one-of-a-kind items, store-brand purchases may soon become the norm across all customer profiles.

Hale added that store brands demonstrated its power by capturing a 20 unit share or higher in 48-of-the-117 categories analyzed by Nielsen. Last year, Nielsen found that private-label brand sales grew by 7.4% to $85.9 billion within food, drug and mass-merchandisers (including Wal-Mart), with shares recorded at 16.9%.

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Coupon Clippers most likely are wealthy, educated

A survey conducted by Harris Interactive and Coupons.com found that among 1,017 adults, ages 18 or older, 6-out-of-10 (61%) with an income of $100,000 or more have redeemed a coupon in the last six months. About 4-in-10 adults (39%) in this income bracket have redeemed coupons printed from an online source in the same time period. This indicates that they are nearly twice as likely to redeem coupons as household adults with an income of less than $35,000 (21%).

Adults with college degrees are almost twice as likely to have used coupons in the past six months as those who didn't graduate from high school. The survey also showed that this group of grads is more likely to make a purchase specifically to redeem a coupon, visit a product's Web site to get a coupon and search for coupons online. The advent of digital savings tools coupled with a problem economy means that couponing is in the mainstream.

RxWeb Genius® from Pharmacists OnLine® gives independent pharmacies the ability to have your own customized coupons with an automatic 'click here to print'. Visitwww.RxWebGenius.com for a preview.