In its annual Insights report, released Thursday, CVS Caremark Corp. said its increased availability of generics and its high generic dispensing rate helped reduce spending on traditional medications by 3.6 percent for the company’s commercial clients. more

A test for state legislators: more

Tunstall Americas, a division of U.K.-based Tunstall Healthcare Group, and a provider of health care communications services, is in the process of hiring 250 people to fully staff its new Pawtucket local and will hold a local recruitment drive on Friday, April 19, to find candidates. more

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced on April 29 that the application for health coverage has been simplified and significantly shortened. more

A new partnership between Lifespan’s Women’s Medicine Collaborative and OB-GYN Associates Inc. was officially announced Thursday, linking one of the state’s largest obstetrics and gynecological practices with the state’s largest multidisciplinary outpatient center focused on the health needs of women. more

Three-hundred and ninety-nine nurses and union members picketed outside the Dudley Street entrance of Women & Infants Hospital on April 11, calling on the Providence hospital to lift its hiring freeze and fill vacant positions with permanent, local workers instead of hiring temporary, subcontracted “traveler” nurses. more

R.I. Health Insurance Commissioner Christopher F. Koller is stepping down to take a post as president of the Milbank Memorial Fund, a national health policy foundation based in New York, Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee announced Thursday. more

Dr. Kristen A. Matteson, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Women & Infants Hospital, has been awarded a $1.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the hospital announced Monday. more

The Rhode Island Welcome Back Center at Dorcas Place Adult and Family Learning Center was recently given a $5,000 donation by the Rhode Island Health Care Association. more

What’s the best way to care for patients and their families? Our two organizations have been working to answer that question for 140 years. Now, we’ll be doing it together. And the people who will benefit most will be the patients and their families who we serve every day. more