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Being the hedgehog of retailing has brought Walgreens where it is today: on the verge of transforming community pharmacy into something no one before has ever imagined — no one but Walgreens.

Click below to download the complete "Walgreens: The Transformer" report.

As the debate over healthcare reform in the United States rages — sometimes palpably so — a new report from healthcare market research firm IMS Health indicated that a major shift in drug-spending trends is under way between developed countries like the United States and developing countries.

Click below to download the complete Annual Disease State Report.

One thing remains unchanged about our readers: Retail clinicians tend to love their jobs. In all, about 75% of readers said they are extremely (31%) or mostly (44%) satisfied with their current job working in a retail clinic. What has changed somewhat over the years is the chief reason retail clinicians seem to like what they do. For the first time, the ability to work directly with patients to improve health outcomes trumps the autonomy and independence the model affords clinicians who have worked in other practice settings, with more than 6-of-10 citing some aspect of patient care.

In March, The Drug Store News Group in partnership with the Food Marketing Institute co-hosted a special retailer-supplier panel discussion at FMI’s annual Health & Wellness Conference in Orlando, Fla. DSN editor Rob Eder moderated a lively roundtable discussion that examined key opportunities to align retailer and supplier strategies to better match the needs of today’s consumers — and the moving target that is their definition of health and wellness.

For the complete PDF of the FMI/DSN Roundtable, click below.

Every year, thousands of new items are launched at retail. Typically, about half of 1% are ever truly successful. The DSN Innov-ies salutes the most innovative new products in health and beauty launched between May 2011 and May 2012 — not just a bunch of new flavors and sizes, but the truly unique items that brought real growth to the category. In all, DSN received nearly 700 votes via a special online ballot. DSN readers voted for their top 10 picks. The rankings in this special report reflect the total percentage of votes each item received.

For niche brands, getting a foot in the door of mass market retail is no easy feat, and the stakes remain high as retailers have, in recent years, trimmed SKU counts and grown increasingly risk-adverse. Yet, at the same time, retailers remain on the hunt for a point of differentiation among a sea of “sameness.”

The DSN PoweRx Players ranks the Top 50 scorers — including drug chains, independents, supermarkets, mass and club stores — by the one metric that matters: pharmacy sales. Find out what these top players are doing to win in pharmacy, health and wellness.

To download the PDF of this year's Annual Report, click below.

In November 2011, The Drug Store News Group hosted in New York an exclusive roundtable discussion of leading pharmacy retailers and a handful of key vendors.

Anchored by more than 7,300 stores, 650 clinics and the nation's second-biggest PBM, CVS Caremark is unlike any other company. President and CEO Larry Merlo tells DSN why that matters to payers.

Click below to download the complete PDF of "CVS Caremark: A category of one."

One of America’s most intractable challenges is the staggering cost of health care. Policy-makers agree that Medicare and Medicaid — not to mention the nation’s frayed health system overall — can’t continue to sustain the costs of care. One vital but underutilized resource that could help break the cost cycle is the nation’s 56,000 community pharmacies — and the pharmacists who staff them.

“Our goal is to create an experience unmatched in this industry by focusing on ‘Well.’” With those 15 words, spoken at Walgreens’ annual meeting, Walgreens president and CEO Greg Wasson identified the singular purpose that will drive all of the chain’s initiatives going forward. Walgreens no longer is on a path to own well; it’s on a path to dominate every aspect of well.

Click below to download the full 2012 Walgreens Annual Report.

Walmart's purpose — embodied by the company’s “save money, live better” value proposition — has become a more powerful force, motivating Walmart’s health-and-wellness strategies. And the retailer is much more broadly thinking about its potential role in an evolving healthcare delivery system, where cost promises to be the dominant consideration for decades to come and nutrition will play a great role.

Click below to download the full Walmart Annual Report.