U.S. News and World Report and Pharmacy Times Debut 2013 Top Recommended Health Products

NEW YORK — June 18, 2013 – U.S. News & World Report, the nation’s leading publisher of quality rankings, and Pharmacy Times, the pharmacy industry’s leading publication, today announced the 2013 Top Health Product recommendations. Now in its 17th year, this annual survey reaches a significant portion of Pharmacy Times’ 168,000 pharmacist readers and ranks more than 1,000 over-the-counter (OTC) products by category for consumers.

Beginning today, consumers and health care professionals can visit http://health.usnews.com/health-products and www.otcguide.net to access pharmacists’ go-to brands in more than 160 therapeutic categories. These include everything from women’s health, pain/inflammation, and diagnostics to first aid, cold/cough/allergy and vitamins. This information is also available via a new mobile app on the iOS platform; search “OTC Guide.”

If you are suffering from an early summer sun burn, this resource can pinpoint the top pharmacist-recommended sun burn relief product. Or, if you are itchy with poison ivy, you can find pharmacists’ top cures as well as 22 additional topical remedies for other conditions.

2013’s Top Vote-Getter Wins by a Nose

This year, the consumer brand that received the highest number of votes in any category is Breathe Right in the “Nasal Strips” category with 99% of pharmacists recommending this product. The following products round out the top 15 vote-getters across all categories:

• Lactaid in “Lactose Intolerance Products” with a 98% recommendation
• Vicks VapoRub in “Topical Cough Suppressants—Ointments” with 90%
• Imodium in “Antidiarrheals” with 89%
• Debrox in “Ear Wax Removal” with 86%
• Breathe Right in “Snore Aids” with 85%
• Hyland’s Cough Syrup in “Homeopathic Cough Products” with 84%
• Crest 3D Whitestrips in “Teeth Whitening Products” with 83%
• Monistat in “Vaginal Antifungals” with 80%
• Abreva in “Cold Sore Treatments” with 79%
• Sensodyne in “Toothpaste—Sensitive Gums/Teeth” with 79%
• Prilosec OTC in “Proton Pump Inhibitors” with 78%
• Colace/Peri-Colace in “Stool Softeners” with 78%
• Bausch & Lomb Sensitive Eyes Plus Saline Solution in “Contact Lens Saline Solutions” with 77%
• Neosporin in “Topical Antibiotics/Antiseptics” with 73%

“U.S. News has a rich history of providing consumers credible, quality information that improves lives,” said Brian Kelly, Editor and Chief Content Officer of U.S. News & World Report. “Combining our experience with the expertise of Pharmacy Times empowers our readers with professional recommendations to help them take better care of themselves and their families.”

Since 1997, Pharmacy Times has identified pharmacists’ insights and preferences in an annual research program with Healthcare Research and Analytics (HRA; www.hraresearch.com), a consultative healthcare market research practice, and has published the results through the OTC Guide, which primarily reaches health care professionals.

“Pharmacists continue to play a critical role in the health of families across the country, as they are the most accessible health care provider,” said Tighe Blazier, Chief Operating Officer of Michael J. Hennessy Associates, Inc., Pharmacy Times’ publisher. “Together with U.S. News, we’re proud to provide a valuable resource of trusted pharmacist advice for just about any over-the-counter product decisions.”

Last year, Pharmacy Times and U.S. News began collaborating to bring these pharmacist recommendations to consumers nationwide. Through U.S. News’ website and its portfolio of print outlets, consumers have unprecedented—and searchable—access to the wealth of information produced by the Pharmacy Times annual OTC study.

The iconic “U.S. News & World Report #1 Recommended” badge graphic will begin to appear with the top category products this summer.

To learn more, visit www.pharmacytimes.com and http://health.usnews.com/health-products.

About U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report is a multi-platform publisher of news and analysis, which includes the digital-only U.S. News Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com, and www.rankingsandreviews.com. Focusing on Health, Personal Finance, Education, Travel, Cars, and Public Service/Opinion, U.S. News has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. U.S. News & World Report’s signature franchise includes its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its annual "Best" series of consumer web guides and publications that include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, mutual funds, health plans, and more.

About Pharmacy Times

Pharmacy Times is the industry’s leading publication, providing practical, clinical information pharmacists can use in their everyday practices when counseling patients and interacting with physicians. Each issue contains articles and features covering medication errors, drug interactions, patient education, pharmacy technology, disease state management, patient counseling, product news, pharmacy law, and specialty pharmacy. The Pharmacy Times Office of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. Learn more at www.PharmacyTimes.com, info@pharmacytimes.com or 609-716-7777 and on Facebook at Facebook.com/PharmacyTimes and on Twitter @Pharmacy_Times. Pharmacy Times is published by Michael J. Hennessy Associates, Inc., a leading provider of health care publishing, research, information, and education.

Media Contacts:

Laura McMullen

For U.S. News & World Report

202-955-2000

lmcmullen@usnews.com

Mike Gross

For Pharmacy Times

856-628-6169

mike@hornercom.com