Content about Exclusive News Alert

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — Walmart has rebranded the small-format food-and-drug combo store Neighborhood Market as Walmart Market.

(THE NEWS: Coming soon: More Walmart Market stores. For the full story, click here.)

SAN FRANCISCO — Drug Store News has learned that Tim Canning, president of McKesson’s Health Mart division, is leaving the company to take the position of SVP and chief marketing officer at Omnicare. The move is effective June 17.

“Tim has played an important role in advancing the success of McKesson’s retail independent pharmacy customers through his leadership of key solutions and programs, such as Health Mart,” noted a company representative.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — Diversity in the corporate sense used to be about hiring. Now for such companies as Walgreens, it means ensuring that the banner resonates among the diverse cultures the retailer serves. It’s more than neighborhood marketing; it’s what Walgreens might refer to as Customer Centric Retailing on a much deeper level.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — Perception feeds reality. That is as true today as it was when the economy first started its rollercoaster plunge back in 2008. The perception is that the consumer is on her way back. And while that is fast becoming reality, today’s retailer will be looking to commit its capital expenditures to more than just the traditional new Main-and-Main locations.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — Why is the news that CVS Caremark has secured the mail-order and specialty prescription drug benefit for Federal Employee Program so important? Well, some pundits might say there is no indication that the integrated retail-pharmacy benefit manager model had anything to do with why FEP chose Caremark over Medco. It doesn't matter. As any football coach would say, "A win's a win," and this is a big one.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — Medication nonadherence is sort of similar to substance abuse: It’s a societal issue that stems from multiple causes and as such, probably will never completely disappear; however, it still can be mitigated. And because it stems from multiple causes, effectively combating it also requires multiple strategies.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — The Louisiana State Senate has given the green light to legislation that would expand pharmacy's ability to administer immunizations, and now the House of Representatives is slated to vote on the legislation in the coming days. The passage of SB 60 is important because expanding the pharmacist's ability to administer vaccinations is a relatively low-cost way to expand access and ultimately improve outcomes.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — To say that the impact of high prices at the pump this year is not as bad as it was in 2008 may be a testament to just how bad it was in 2008. As long as the price-per-gallon hovers above or below that magical $4, it’s still plenty bad, and there still are plenty of people who are changing shopping behaviors because of it.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — Life doesn’t give you too many of those Magic 8 Ball moments, at least not the kind you can find at the pharmacy counter. Just ask the 8 Ball if medicine compliance is important for retail pharmacy, and the answer undoubtedly will come back, “It is decidedly so.”

(THE NEWS: Surgeon general, NCL introduce Script Your Future campaign. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — Neither one of the co-recipients of this year’s Fantle Award would want you to call it the end of an era. They would both tell you that’s an overstatement.

(THE NEWS: NACDS honors Tom Ryan, Mary Sammons with lifetime achievement awards. For the full story, click here)

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Early Sunday morning at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Annual Meeting, NACDS announced that in 2013 it will unify its current NACDS Marketplace Conference, NACDS Pharmacy & Technology Conference and NACDS Supply Chain & Logistics Conference into one new event, called the “NACDS Total Store Expo.” NACDS said the transformation of its conference program was based on input from member companies and a long-term vision for bringing business partners together in an innovative conference environment.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — With more than two-thirds of Americans either overweight or obese, weight management undoubtedly is a critical health issue facing the nation. And the news that RediClinic now is offering a weight-management program speaks to a larger trend with the convenient care industry: expanding service offerings beyond acute care, which includes, for some operators, tools to tackle obesity.