An app from UnitedHealthcare provides prices for prescription medications, takes insurance and discount plans into consideration, and suggests less expensive options.The goal is to initiate a conversation between patients and physicians before the patient leaves the office, avoiding future back-and-forth conversations if a patient needs to change a prescription based on cost. Called ScriptHub Plus, the app is being piloted at a 300-doctor multispecialty group in New York.

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Using the right mix of chemicals, a portable device invented by MIT researchers can manufacture Benadryl, lidocaine, Valium and Prozac on demand. Capable of making 1,000 doses of medication in 24 hours, the system could be used during an unexpected disease outbreak, a drug shortage or a manufacturing plant shutdown. It could also make small amounts of drugs for clinical trials or for the treatment of rare diseases.

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A contact lens developed by Harvard Medical School researchers effectively provides glaucoma medication in a controlled, gradual manner. A polymer film on the periphery houses the drug and releases it slowly, while the center of the lens remains clear and allows for normal visual acuity, breathability and hydration. A small study by the researchers showed that a lens delivering a low dose of the drug provided the same therapeutic effect as liquid eyedrops. Researchers hope the innovation will ensure patients receive their glaucoma medicine.