Drug Fix

11/30/2012 - 2:29pm

The next blockbuster? It's called just taking drugs as prescribed

A new report shows that drug makers lose nearly $200 billion per year from medication nonadherence, illustrating that it's not just the healthcare system overall that loses when people don't take their medications properly.

This just goes to show the important role that pharmacy retailers have in helping to promote medication adherence by having pharmacists play an active role in patients' health care through services like medication therapy management.

11/30/2012 - 1:39pm

Walgreens' 8,000th store set among Hollywood's stars

It's only fitting that Walgreens placed its 8,000th store opening among the stars of Hollywood. It's not only a stellar achievement in and of itself, but the company's latest flagship store — and the first one on the West Coast — continues to emphasize Walgreens' out-of-this-world approach to drug store retailing.

Except you can't really call it drug store retailing, anymore. Not really. Because the other reason Hollywood is an appropriate backdrop to Walgreens' West Coast flagship is the fact that Walgreens has effectively transformed its big-box stage into a retail theater where each new grand location portrays a little of that flair in each new urban setting. That was evident in its second flagship store along Broadway in New York with its museum chronologically picturing those who have been honored in the Canyon of Heroes. And it's also evident in the second placement of a Walgreens' flagship store in Chicago.

11/21/2012 - 12:34pm

Fred’s eyes smaller box concept, specialty solution to grow pharmacy business

During Fred's third-quarter earnings call, the company told analysts it was testing a new, smaller format drug-dollar store concept and that its partnership with Diplomat was creating new clinical capabilities for the chain, which still sees pharmacy as a major growth opportunity.

The more Memphis-area patients continue singing those Delta blues, the more they're going to be scuffling through Fred's doors in their blue suede shoes. Effectively serving that economically-challenged patient is just one reason why Fred's third-quarter call this week should resonate across the industry. Because Fred's is in pursuit of two trends that are critical to its future — a specialty pharmacy solution that gains Fred's entree into the only growth-game in pharmacy, and an answer to its big-box competitors with a small-footprint, dollar-store/pharmacy hybrid.

11/21/2012 - 12:29pm

New national NP membership organization illustrates need to speak with one voice

The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the American College of Nurse Practitioners will merge the organizations effective in January. With approximately 40,000 members, the new organization, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, or AANP, will serve as the largest professional membership organization in the country for nurse practitioners of all specialties.

With the nation facing a growing shortage of primary care physicians and some 30 million Americans gaining health insurance in 2014 due to healthcare reform, it is no secret that the nation is grappling with a strained healthcare system. If nurse practitioners are serious about expanding their role in health care they need to speak with one voice.

11/21/2012 - 12:21pm

Health and wellness, led by example

More than 80 RediClinic employees and their families lost a total of 700 lbs. while participating in a companywide competition modeled after its Weigh Forward weight loss program.

Experience will make these providers better coaches for patients who sign up for the program. Aside from putting Rediclinic in place to battle one of the most chronic conditions in America — obesity — it also is creating important bonds between patients and practitioners.

11/16/2012 - 4:38pm

Getting into specialty serves retailers' best interests

Kroger announced Thursday it will acquire the outstanding shares of Axium Pharmacy Holdings, a leading specialty pharmacy, and merge the two companies. By now, it should be clear that specialty is becoming an increasingly important part of the retail pharmacy mix, having grown more than sixfold in revenues between 2000 and 2011, with everyone from Rite Aid to Costco to Hy-Vee biting off a piece for themselves.

As Specialty Pharmacy magazine reported in its fall 2012 issue, specialty drug development is starting to play a much bigger role in drug development overall than traditional pharmaceuticals. According to the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, seven of the top 20 drug therapy classes will be in specialty by 2016, including cancer, autoimmune disorders and antivirals, and specialty and bioengineered drugs remain one of the few growth centers in the drug industry in 2012. And according to Express Scripts, the market for specialty and bioengineered drugs is expected to grow from 2011's 17.1% to 22% by 2014.

11/16/2012 - 3:40pm

Successfully connecting with Latinas spells a big win for beauty companies

A study of 900 women by Siempre Mujer magazine, a Spanish-language publication that covers beauty, fashion and lifestyles for Latinas, found that Latinas prefer details in beauty products, follow a multipronged beauty regimen and tend to outspend women in the general population when it comes to beauty, with more than 52% spending $25 or more per visit. In other words, Latinas represent a significant opportunity for retailers and beauty manufacturers.

Giving the growth of the Hispanic market and the rising buying power, it is important that retailers and manufacturers understand how to effectively connect with this beauty shopper.

11/16/2012 - 3:38pm

Reckitt Benckiser vs. Bayer: Having VMS in the product portfolio good insurance for future growth

Reckitt Benckiser on Friday made an offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of VMS maker Schiff Nutrition for $42 per share in cash, or approximately $1.4 billion — a premium of 23.5% more than the $34 per share offer Bayer HealthCare announced Oct. 30.

11/09/2012 - 5:04pm

Loyalty cards explain how three pharmacy operators are bullish around winning the same patient

CVS Caremark reported strong numbers on both the retail and PBM sides of its business — but the real bombshell for analysts on the call was the news that the company has raised its estimate on the number of Express Script patients that CVS feels it can keep from going back to Walgreens.

That's a big boast. But Rite Aid, too, likes its shot to keep the ESI customers who at one time frequented Walgreens' pharmacies to fill their prescriptions. And Walgreens, for its part, reminds analysts that there was a reason those ESI patients were filling their prescriptions in the first place. So the Chicago retailer is confident that they'll be able to entice many of their former patients to return to the pharmacy fold. But in the end, who's really going to capture that coveted ESI patient? Will they stay, or will they go?

11/09/2012 - 4:42pm

The synergies to flow between Boots, Walgreens have only begun to be tapped

As part of its multi-channel strategy, Boots UK is currently testing the use of iPads to support in-store ordering across 30 stores, the London-based drug store retailer recently announced.

Sound familiar? Borrowing a page from the Walgreens playbook is evidence that the sharing of best practices will flow in both directions across the Atlantic. What else could Boots borrow from Walgreens? Creating a pharmacy business that better interacts with the neighboring community is one strength at Walgreens that Boots may successfully plug into.