Content about Blog: Rob Eder

April 21, 2013
Game on: Clinics & chronic care

This month Walgreens announced that it would begin to offer chronic care services at its Take Care Clinics. Its biggest competitor, MinuteClinic, made a similar announcement about a year ago. With full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the people paying the bills are going to get a good look at what retail clinics can do to lower costs and improve outcomes.

This month Walgreens announced that it would begin to offer chronic care services at its Take Care Clinics. Its biggest competitor, MinuteClinic, made a similar announcement about a year ago. With full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the people paying the bills are going to get a good look at what retail clinics can do to lower costs and improve outcomes.

March 8, 2013
'World class' in session

By now you probably have heard about "Walgreens University," the internal education center the company opened last month, complete with technology-enhanced classrooms, a mock drug store and video-conferencing capabilities for employee educational programs.

By now you probably have heard about "Walgreens University," the internal education center the company opened last month, complete with technology-enhanced classrooms, a mock drug store and video-conferencing capabilities for employee educational programs.

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. The winners will create a more personalized shopping experience that leverages the expertise in their stores.

February 28, 2013
The DSN digital evolution

Like just about everybody else with a pulse these days, the coolest thing I own is my iPad. I know. How original — me and 53 million other people.

Like just about everybody else with a pulse these days, the coolest thing I own is my iPad. I know. How original — me and 53 million other people.

But there's a reason for that. The iPad reinvents the boring old way we used to do so many things, from how we shop to how we consume media. It is no surprise that iPad users spend twice as much as any other online customer. It's just so damn easy and cool, and well, fun.

January 15, 2013
Welcome to DSN+

DSN+ is a brand-new app that turns a page in Drug Store News into an interactive experience, linking readers seamlessly from print to digital just as quickly and easily as it is to take a picture with your smartphone.

What is DSN+?

DSN+ is a brand-new app that turns a page in Drug Store News into an interactive experience, linking readers seamlessly from print to digital just as quickly and easily as it is to take a picture with your smartphone.

How does it work?

First, go to Apple’s App Store and download our free DSN+ app. Or for Android phones and tablets, click here.

November 29, 2012
Raising the ‘steaks’ on quality care

Recently, I had a brief conversation with a man I admire and respect very much, regarding the cover story of the Oct. 15 issue of DSN, “Building the ACO.”


Recently, I had a brief conversation with a man I admire and respect very much, regarding the cover story of the Oct. 15 issue of DSN, “Building the ACO.”


“Eder, what’s an ACO?” the man asked.


I explained that it stands for accountable care organization; basically, it means providers from different practice settings working together to spread primary care responsibility across an integrated healthcare team. 


“You think that’s good?”


November 15, 2012
Hurricane Sandy and friends of friends

It’s been several weeks now since Hurricane Sandy, virtually erased neighborhoods throughout Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and New Jersey. For those of us who live and grew up here, the stories of loss and devastation are all around us. 


It’s been several weeks now since Hurricane Sandy, virtually erased neighborhoods throughout Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and New Jersey. For those of us who live and grew up here, the stories of loss and devastation are all around us. 


As many as 100 Rockaway boys from Xavier High School — my alma mater — lost their homes and everything in them. 


It’s times like these when you really understand what it means to be a part of this great city and its indomitable spirit.


November 5, 2012
‘Building the ACO’ revisited

The ink was barely dry when we received this response to our Oct. 15, 2012, cover story, “Building the ACO.”


The ink was barely dry when we received this response to our Oct. 15, 2012, cover story, “Building the ACO.”


Dear Editor,


October 9, 2012
Retail clinics vs. urgent care — it’s a numbers game

A few months ago, I found myself commenting on another website focused on healthcare-related news about the future growth potential for retail clinics versus urgent care centers. Actually, I was on the verge of a full-on debate with some other user, saved only by the grace of a site error. It is an ironic example of how technology can make humans more efficient — even if by mistake.


A few months ago, I found myself commenting on another website focused on healthcare-related news about the future growth potential for retail clinics versus urgent care centers. Actually, I was on the verge of a full-on debate with some other user, saved only by the grace of a site error. It is an ironic example of how technology can make humans more efficient — even if by mistake.


September 18, 2012
Wasson rewind: Advancement of pharmacy by the numbers

There was something that jumped out at me during the one-hour interview with Walgreens president and CEO Greg Wasson that helped set the tone for the massive, 86-page exclusive report on the company that appears in this issue. It had to do with Wasson’s vision for the role of community pharmacy in the future of 
health care.


There was something that jumped out at me during the one-hour interview with Walgreens president and CEO Greg Wasson that helped set the tone for the massive, 86-page exclusive report on the company that appears in this issue. It had to do with Wasson’s vision for the role of community pharmacy in the future of 
health care.


August 27, 2012
Introducing DSN Patient Views

Can you feel that? 
It’s the seismic shift that currently is occurring in health care in this country. And really, it’s just a tremor. The intense stuff isn’t expected to hit until 2014.


Can you feel that? 


It’s the seismic shift that currently is occurring in health care in this country. And really, it’s just a tremor. The intense stuff isn’t expected to hit until 2014.


That’s why we’re creating “Patient Views” (see page 6), a new department that will be featured Upfront in every issue of DSN and in every edition of our daily 
e-newsletter, DSN A.M.


July 30, 2012
Retail’s undeniable 
interconnectedness

“It’s actually an illusion that those boxers are separate entities. The separate entities are just the way we choose to perceive them. The boxers, you, me — we’re all part of the same quantum field. Think of the two boxers as ocean waves or currents of air — two tornadoes, say. They appear to be two separate things, but they’re not. Tornadoes are just wind. The wind stirred up in different directions. The fact is nothing is separate. Everything is connected. The shapes we see exist only in our own consciousness.”

“It’s actually an illusion that those boxers are separate entities. The separate entities are just the way we choose to perceive them. The boxers, you, me — we’re all part of the same quantum field. Think of the two boxers as ocean waves or currents of air — two tornadoes, say. They appear to be two separate things, but they’re not. Tornadoes are just wind. The wind stirred up in different directions. The fact is nothing is separate. Everything is connected.

June 24, 2012
What role can your brand play in drug stores’ future?

A mile high here at NACDS Marketplace 2012, spirits are riding about as high. All things considered, this is a pretty good time to be in the drug store business.

A mile high here at NACDS Marketplace 2012, spirits are riding about as high. All things considered, this is a pretty good time to be in the drug store business.

Pharmacy dollars and scripts are ahead of the overall trend, and on the front-end, dollars and trips are up considerably as consumers are trading trips to the big boxes for more quick trips to the drug store.

June 21, 2012
Our surprising readership

Sometimes even I am surprised by who is reading us. Last month, nearly 120,000 unique visitors came to DrugStoreNews.com. One of them was president of the American Academy of Family Physicians Glen Stream.


Sometimes even I am surprised by who is reading us. Last month, nearly 120,000 unique visitors came to DrugStoreNews.com. One of them was president of the American Academy of Family Physicians Glen Stream.


May 16, 2012
Occupy health care

I am the 99%. And thank God for that. But it’s not what you think. This isn’t about radical politics and class warfare. I’m not looking to tax the 1%. I just want them to take better care of themselves. And I’m definitely not the only one. More and more, payers, insurers and big government are all looking at ways to get this group to live a little healthier. 


I am the 99%. And thank God for that. But it’s not what you think. This isn’t about radical politics and class warfare. I’m not looking to tax the 1%. I just want them to take better care of themselves. And I’m definitely not the only one. More and more, payers, insurers and big government are all looking at ways to get this group to live a little healthier. 


April 13, 2012
What your shoppers say about you: Meet C2B Mobile Insights

“We want to make sure we’re talking to our members where and how they want to be spoken to.”
 That was something Sam’s Club VP health and family care Jason Reiser said to me for the special report we did on the company that appeared on the cover of our April 2 issue.

“We want to make sure we’re talking to our members where and how they want to be spoken to.”


That was something Sam’s Club VP health and family care Jason Reiser said to me for the special report we did on the company that appeared on the cover of our April 2 issue. In case you missed it, you can download the full report here.


March 26, 2012
Readers’ PBM perspectives

A guest column in the March 12 issue of DSN, “Let me tell you what PBMs do,” by Republican Utah State Rep. Evan Vickers, really set off a firestorm of debate on DrugStoreNews.com and on DSN’s social media sites.

A guest column in the March 12 issue of DSN, “Let me tell you what PBMs do,” by Republican Utah State Rep. Evan Vickers, really set off a firestorm of debate on DrugStoreNews.com and on DSN’s social media sites. Check out this snippet from two online users with VERY different perspectives on all of this. For Rep. Vickers’ complete column and to add your own views to the debate, click here.


March 8, 2012
Where are the ‘integration sweet spots’ for your brand?

“How does that help me sell more cases, pallets and truckloads?” That’s a question I have been asked repeatedly, particularly as the world of retail pharmacy has evolved to play a larger role in health care. With that, the business that we cover in Drug Store News has become incredibly more complicated.


“How does that help me sell more cases, pallets and truckloads?” That’s a question I have been asked repeatedly, particularly as the world of retail pharmacy has evolved to play a larger role in health care. With that, the business that we cover in Drug Store News has become incredibly more complicated.


February 17, 2012
Where everyone wants to be ... but how to get there?

According to IMS VP industry relations Doug Long, who spoke Feb. 6 at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Regional Chain Meeting on current trends and forecasts for the U.S. pharmaceutical market, specialty pharmacy dollars are growing more than 10% on a 12-month moving annual total basis. 


“I have 20 years in the retail sector, and I know that not every pharmacist can be a specialist in a retail environment. So we give the pharmacists a higher level of confidence by using technology to target specific [national drug codes]. If a limited-
distribution product or a specialty script that they either don’t stock or they have never seen before comes across the counter, the computer directs them to Hy-Vee Pharmacy Solutions.

January 3, 2012
On hamburgers and health care

This is going to be a big year for retail clinics because this is going to be the year that payers really begin to engage with retail-based care on a meaningful level. 


This is going to be a big year for retail clinics because this is going to be the year that payers really begin to engage with retail-based care on a meaningful level. 


December 5, 2011
Painting a bleak picture – bleak, but not hopeless

“Just 1-in-4 consumers expect their financial position to improve in the coming year.” That’s the way SymphonyIRI Group saw it in its recently released report “The Downturn Shopper: Buckled in for a wild and crazy ride.”

“Just 1-in-4 consumers expect their financial position to improve in the coming year.” That’s the way SymphonyIRI Group saw it in its recently released report “The Downturn Shopper: Buckled in for a wild and crazy ride.” Among the highlights — or lowlights — of how consumers are responding to the pressure:


  • 49% visit the hair salon/spa less often;


  • 40% are trying fewer new products;


November 4, 2011
Seniors tend to ‘get the point’

I know this older guy at my gym — I call him “The Professor,” mostly because he used to teach journalism, but also because it’s more fun to say and easier to remember than his actual name.

I know this older guy at my gym — I call him “The Professor,” mostly because he used to teach journalism, but also because it’s more fun to say and easier to remember than his actual name. He’s 85 now, and he says if he doesn’t get to the club to swim laps and sit in the steam room at least three times a week, he feels like he’s doing something wrong. He says he feels the same way about flu shots and all vaccinations for that matter.


October 19, 2011
Mr. Eder goes to Washington

I’m not going to lie about it. The first thing I thought as I checked into the U.S. Capitol on official business for the story that appears at the bottom of this page was: “Wow, this is pretty cool.”


I’m not going to lie about it. The first thing I thought as I checked into the U.S. Capitol on official business to moderate a special Congressional briefing hosted by the American Association of Homeopathic Pharmacists was: “Wow, this is pretty cool.”


Truth is, the American Association of Homeopathic Pharmacists believed that Drug Store News could make some pretty complex ideas understandable for a group of 20-somethings whose job it is to tell 435 members of Congress what to think and how to vote.


September 12, 2011
The flip side of the ride back from Boston

Somewhere along the road back from Boston, DSN publisher Wayne Bennett and I looked at each other and realized that the previous 24 hours or so had been some of the most productive time we had enjoyed at a trade show in quite a while.


Somewhere along the road back from Boston, DSN publisher Wayne Bennett and I looked at each other and realized that the previous 24 hours or so had been some of the most productive time we had enjoyed at a trade show in quite a while. To be honest, that’s not exactly what we had expected when we headed to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ Pharmacy and Technology Conference a day earlier. Hurricane Irene — which had already dampened our travel plans — also had dampened our expectations.


August 19, 2011
Hugs for Charlie — Take one and pass it along

“[Charlie] never wanted the spotlight,” long-time friend and colleague Al Kraus noted in an online post, recalling a conversation with Charlie Bowlus over a drink one night in 1994, at the end of the very first ECRM show.

“[Charlie] never wanted the spotlight,” long-time friend and colleague Al Kraus noted in an online post, recalling a conversation with Charlie Bowlus over a drink one night in 1994, at the end of the very first ECRM show. “His first show had maybe 80 people. ... I asked him if he made any money on the show. He said, ‘I don’t know, but a lot of people did business, and it was a hell of a party.’”

July 25, 2011
Moving beyond sick care — just do it!


One thing that was pretty clear in the research we conducted for the 2011 Retail Clinician Reader Survey is that an increasing number of retail-based health practitioners want the clinics they work for to expand the scope of services beyond acute care.


One thing that was pretty clear in the research we conducted for the 2011 Retail Clinician Reader Survey is that an increasing number of retail-based health practitioners want the clinics they work for to expand the scope of services beyond acute care. Many readers said the one thing that would make them even more satisfied about the work they do is “moving beyond sick care,” as one reader noted, to more preventive/wellness-oriented services, including chronic disease management programs for diabetes, hypertension and more.