Drug Fix

03/08/2013 - 5:11pm
Turning to OTCs as first line of therapy only makes cents

Just about every healthcare practitioner recommends over-the-counter medicines to their patients. And nearly 3-out-of-4 make that OTC recommendation as the first therapy option, according to a recent survey released by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.

This is another proof point that OTC medicines play an important role in holding down cost.

03/08/2013 - 4:42pm
Telehealth could supplement self-diagnosis as more young people go online for health information

The number of Americans who want technology to play a role in their healthcare is growing, as up to 64% of Americans use online health resources, and 40% use them to self-diagnose, according to a new survey conducted by the Atlantic and GlaxoSmithKline. Yet while 94% of those using online resources consider them important to their health, only 12% report contacting doctors via email or text message regarding a health question.

The Atlantic-GSK survey and other surveys indicate that the group favoring online health information tends to skew younger.

03/08/2013 - 4:39pm
OutcomesMTM helping MTM outcomes matter

OutcomesMTM, a medication therapy management delivery system, last week recognized its top chain and independent pharmacies for 2012. Walgreens and Kerr Drug were named top large pharmacy chain and top regional pharmacy chain, respectively.

MTM matters, and people are keeping score. And it's something you can expect to see more of in the age of accountable care and star-based quality ratings.

03/01/2013 - 4:08pm
Same-day delivery is going to help separate omnichannel players from pretenders

Sears Holdings is adding some of its own fare to its mygofer.com offering, an online grocery service that "turbo-charges brick-and-mortar retailer assortments by allowing customers to get items from those stores where and when they want them in new, convenient ways."

"At mygofer, your list is our command," Sears tells shoppers on its website. "Shop with us for your prescriptions, groceries, beauty products, clothes, shoes, electronics and a whole lot more you might not expect. So whatever's on your list, we can help you get it — with incredible speed and no hassles. That's convenience."

03/01/2013 - 3:13pm
The other side of the Albertsons pharmacy leadership story

Upon the closing of Supervalu's sale of five pharmacy banners to Albertsons LLC, long-time Supervalu vet Dan Salemi will assume the role of president of pharmacy at the new Albertsons LLC. Salemi will succeed Supervalu president pharmacy operations Chris Dimos, who will stay on board until the deal is done.

Albertsons LLC gets a very talented pharmacy executive to run its pharmacy business, no doubt, in Dan Salemi. And with more than three decades working across Supervalu's banners, he's well-versed in the nuances of the Supervalu pharmacy business in each market.

03/01/2013 - 2:57pm
Telehealth provides another way for retail pharmacies to provide clinical services

Rite Aid announced Friday that it had expanded its "virtual clinic" model to additional markets, now offering NowClinic Online Care service in 58 stores.

Retail clinics are an area in which Rite Aid has not invested to the same degree as Walgreens and CVS, but NowClinic shows that there are more ways to offer clinical services in a retail pharmacy setting than building an actual clinic. In 2011, Rite Aid became the first to provide such virtual clinics in a retail pharmacy setting when it launched the program as a pilot in nine stores in Detroit.

02/22/2013 - 4:19pm
Community-based diabetes efforts should involve retail pharmacies

The YMCA is offering a demonstration project to show that its YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program — part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's broader National Diabetes Prevention Program — can lower the incidence of Type 2 diabetes and reduce medical costs incurred by Medicare. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation is funding the project, whereby YMCAs in 17 communities that deliver the program will offer it at no cost to 10,000 Medicare enrollees over the next three years, and the YMCA expects it to save Medicare $4.2 million over three years and $53 million over six years.

It's been said that, "It takes a village to raise a child," and because chronic disease is an issue that affects communities as a whole - not just individuals - it would make sense for community-based organizations to target a growing national health crisis like the diabetes epidemic.

02/22/2013 - 3:12pm
Personalization, omnichannel and wellness: Establishing a strong consumer proposition at Safeway

Safeway on Thursday reported a 1.3% annual sales lift to $44.2 billion for its fiscal 2012. The year-end sales lift was driven by increased fuel sales and a same-store sales increase of 0.5% (excluding fuel), the grocer reported.

However, from listening to this last conference call, coming out of a year that has been framed more by Safeway's challenges than Safeway's opportunity on Wall Street, you get the sense that 2012 was 2012 and that this 2013 party has only just begun.

02/22/2013 - 2:27pm
‘World Class’ in session at WAG U

Competing in the new age of retail, where bricks, clicks and anything in between compete for a larger share of the omnichannel customer, will require new skill sets and a generally better educated workforce at every level of the organization, but particularly at the store level.

02/15/2013 - 4:39pm
Elimination of Saturday mail delivery could complicate mail-order business

Eighty-eight members of the House of Representatives fired off a letter Monday to postmaster general and CEO of the U.S. Postal Service Patrick Donahoe urging the agency not to eliminate Saturday delivery of mail, saying it would impede the ability of people who depend on mail-order pharmacies to receive their medications.

It's no secret that the retail pharmacy industry and pharmacy benefit managers don't always see eye-to-eye, with the latter being the main provider of mail-order pharmacy services in the country and often touting them as an alternative to going to the drug store, while the former emphasize the face-to-face interaction with pharmacists not usually possible with mail-order. But between the back-and-forth, millions of patients still depend on mail order pharmacy, and the cost effectiveness that mail-order pharmacies frequently promote themselves as offering could be at risk if they must use more expensive delivery methods.