Content about In this Issue

August 17, 2012
Pharmaca ups prestige with Beauty Bar

Pharmaca’s new 1,000-sq.-ft. Natural Beauty Bar in Los Angeles along Sunset Boulevard centers around two areas: the brow bar for waxing and threading services and the makeup area for makeup application and makeovers. 


LOS ANGELES — Pharmaca’s new 1,000-sq.-ft. Natural Beauty Bar in Los Angeles along Sunset Boulevard centers around two areas: the brow bar for waxing and threading services and the makeup area for makeup application and makeovers. 


August 17, 2012
Pharmacists can help reduce 
Medicaid costs

As states grapple with tight budgets, rising Medicaid costs and the anticipated expansion of Medicaid following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, policy-makers should consider how community pharmacists can help reduce expenses.

As states grapple with tight budgets, rising Medicaid costs and the anticipated expansion of Medicaid following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, policy-makers should consider how community pharmacists can help reduce expenses. In addition, new evidence offers a fresh reminder of the perils of managed care in Medicaid and the need for proper oversight of managed care entities.

August 17, 2012
RCEC 2012 upbeat as retail clinics reach tipping point

As the Drug Store News Group and its partners at the Convenient Care Association played host to several hundred in-store based providers in Orlando, Fla., in late July for the fifth annual Retail Clinician Education Congress, several signs began to emerge that the retail clinic model had reached a critical tipping point.

Call it the Year of the Retail Clinic. 


As the Drug Store News Group and its partners at the Convenient Care Association played host to several hundred in-store based providers in Orlando, Fla., in late July for the fifth annual Retail Clinician Education Congress, several signs began to emerge that the retail clinic model had reached a critical tipping point. Not the least of which is that for the third year in a row, the U.S. Senate had resolved to name the week of Aug. 6 National Convenient Care Week.


August 17, 2012
Retail stars to headline DSN Issues Summit

Walgreens. CVS. Rite Aid. Walmart. Costco. Health Mart. Sam’s Club. Ahold. H-E-B. Winn-Dixie. McKesson. Good Neighbor Pharmacy. Kerr Drug. Rexall Canada. Family Dollar. Shoppers Drug Mart. Giant Eagle. The list of participating companies in the 14th Annual Drug Store News Group Industry Issues conference reads like a “who’s who” of retailing.


Walgreens. CVS. Rite Aid. Walmart. Costco. Health Mart. Sam’s Club. Ahold. H-E-B. Winn-Dixie. McKesson. Good Neighbor Pharmacy. Kerr Drug. Rexall Canada. Family Dollar. Shoppers Drug Mart. Giant Eagle. The list of participating companies in the 14th Annual Drug Store News Group Industry Issues conference reads like a “who’s who” of retailing.


August 17, 2012
The expanding role of pharmacy in ACOs

While the ultimate impact of healthcare reform is still being debated, one trend is clear: Accountable care organizations continue to pick up steam. An ACO is a unique healthcare delivery model defined as a network of healthcare providers who share responsibility for coordinating high-quality care across a specific patient population.

While the ultimate impact of healthcare reform is still being debated, one trend is clear: Accountable care organizations continue to pick up steam. An ACO is a unique healthcare delivery model defined as a network of healthcare providers who share responsibility for coordinating high-quality care across a specific patient population. The concept is not new and, in fact, is based largely on integrated health system models that have been successful for many years.

August 17, 2012
The retailization of health care

Online Groupons for health services? Doctors and hospitals sharing patient data and treatment goals with retail clinics, pharmacies and urgent care centers? Hospitals luring patients with inviting atriums and indoor waterfalls?

Online Groupons for health services? Doctors and hospitals sharing patient data and treatment goals with retail clinics, pharmacies and urgent care centers? Hospitals luring patients with inviting atriums and indoor waterfalls? It’s all part of a wave of “retailization” as the nation’s transforming health system emerges from behind the walls of hospitals, labs and doctors’ offices, and repositions itself as a more retail-oriented, patient-friendly network of care.


July 31, 2012
Max-Wellness Advocates

Max-Wellness, a health-and-wellness concept store, has incorporated proactive employees armed with health information as part of its DNA since the company’s inception in 2010.

Max-Wellness, a health-and-wellness concept store, has incorporated proactive employees armed with health information as part of its DNA since the company’s inception in 2010. The store format features “Max-Answers” information stations that house tablets that can either be picked up by a customer or a Max-Wellness associate for use right at the shelf of interest.

July 31, 2012
Pharmaca Healthcare Practitioners

Positioning a knowledgeable healthcare advocate in the front-end aisles isn’t new — Pharmaca has banked on this key point of differentiation since its inception more than a decade ago.

Positioning a knowledgeable healthcare advocate in the front-end aisles isn’t new — Pharmaca has banked on this key point of differentiation since its inception more than a decade ago. “Anytime you put anybody in the aisle for customer service, you’re going to increase your sales,” commented Mark Panzer, Pharmaca CEO. “Because people are looking for information; they’re looking for recommendations, a consultation to help them establish a regimen … to improve their health condition,” he said.

July 31, 2012
Rite Aid Wellness Ambassadors

As part of Rite Aid’s new Wellness store formats, Rite Aid has positioned its Wellness Ambassador in front of the OTC aisles armed with an iPad that has access to vetted health information.

As part of Rite Aid’s new Wellness store formats, Rite Aid has positioned its Wellness Ambassador in front of the OTC aisles armed with an iPad that has access to vetted health information. “Our Wellness Ambassadors play an important role in the customer experience,” noted Robert Thompson, Rite Aid EVP pharmacy. “They’re there to help patients talk to the pharmacist [for] specific answers to their health questions,” he said. “With us, it’s personal,” Thompson added, referencing Rite Aid’s long-standing maxim.

July 31, 2012
Walgreens Health Guides

The Walgreens Health Guide has a pharmacy technician license and at least two years in medical training. While there is a station positioned in front of the pharmacy, the Health Guides more often are in the aisles helping patients rather than waiting for patients to come to them.

The Walgreens Health Guide has a pharmacy technician license and at least two years in medical training. While there is a station positioned in front of the pharmacy, the Health Guides more often are in the aisles helping patients rather than waiting for patients to come to them. “Right now, more people are taking care of their own health than ever before, and they’re looking for a location that is convenient, that is professional, that is affordable,” noted Marcel Naddaf, Walgreens market pharmacy director for the Indianapolis and St.

July 30, 2012
Begin the battle for the pharmacy patient

Prepare to roll up your sleeves, because the battle for the ESI patient has only just begun. While Wall Street is busy calculating the earnings-per-share impact this will have on all relevant parties (at press time, Walgreens’ shares had consistently hovered around the $35 range, up almost $4 in the week following the announcement), the business of pharmacy retailing will return to block and tackle mode.


Prepare to roll up your sleeves, because the battle for the ESI patient has only just begun. While Wall Street is busy calculating the earnings-per-share impact this will have on all relevant parties (at press time, Walgreens’ shares had consistently hovered around the $35 range, up almost $4 in the week following the announcement), the business of pharmacy retailing will return to block and tackle mode.


July 30, 2012
Health guides: 
Personalizing customers’ health-and-wellness experience

Incorporated into the new store formats currently being rolled out by both Walgreens and Rite Aid is a new store associate position with the primary function of proactively engaging customers in the OTC aisle. Walgreens calls them Health Guides; Rite Aid calls them Wellness Ambassadors.

Incorporated into the new store formats currently being rolled out by both Walgreens and Rite Aid is a new store associate position with the primary function of proactively engaging customers in the OTC aisle. Walgreens calls them Health Guides; Rite Aid calls them Wellness Ambassadors.

July 30, 2012
New DR store ‘ups’ up market

Duane Reade has further developed its leading edge “up market” store concept with the recent opening of its second flagship store in Manhattan’s Financial District.

NEW YORK — Duane Reade has further developed its leading edge “up market” store concept with the recent opening of its second flagship store in Manhattan’s Financial District. Located in the stately American Surety building at 100 Broadway, the 22,000-sq.-ft. store fits the rich history of the area while incorporating some of the most innovative ideas seen today in retail pharmacy.


July 30, 2012
New programs spell loyalty with silent ‘you’

In 2006, Time magazine added a twist to its annual “Person of the Year” cover story, replacing the usual picture of some prominent individual with a picture of a glossy computer screen to show that social networking had made “you” the person of the year. Now, the idea that it’s all about “you” has percolated into retail. 


In 2006, Time magazine added a twist to its annual “Person of the Year” cover story, replacing the usual picture of some prominent individual with a picture of a glossy computer screen to show that social networking had made “you” the person of the year. Now, the idea that it’s all about “you” has percolated into retail. 


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.

July 30, 2012
Wellness stores, ambassadors do well for RAD

One of the most visible representations of Rite Aid’s efforts to make a comeback is its Wellness store format. The company first unveiled the format in several test markets in the Northeast last year, gradually expanding it to other states.

One of the most visible representations of Rite Aid’s efforts to make a comeback is its Wellness store format. The company first unveiled the format in several test markets in the Northeast last year, gradually expanding it to other states. Today, more than 420 stores have been converted, and the chain hopes to eventually make the format the norm. The company plans to have 780 stores converted by the end of the year.


June 21, 2012
Fighting COPD


Drug Store News recently talked with COPD Foundation founder and president John Walsh about the organization’s new leadership. In March, the COPD Foundation took over leadership for Drive4COPD, which aims to screen people for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a collective term for emphysema and chronic bronchitis, which the group estimates to affect 24 million Americans who may have it but don’t know it.


Drug Store News recently talked with COPD Foundation founder and president John Walsh about the organization’s new leadership. In March, the COPD Foundation took over leadership for Drive4COPD, which aims to screen people for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a collective term for emphysema and chronic bronchitis, which the group estimates to affect 24 million Americans who may have it but don’t know it.


DSN: What led the COPD Foundation to take over Drive4COPD?


June 21, 2012
Lewis Drug celebrates 70th anniversary

Lewis Drug is celebrating its 70th anniversary — a milestone that can be attributed, in part, to its willingness to embrace change.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Lewis Drug is celebrating its 70th anniversary — a milestone that can be attributed, in part, to its willingness to embrace change.

“One of the most important things I learned about the retail business is that you need to change. You need to keep yourself fresh and creative, and things will work out,” said Mark Griffin, president and CEO of Lewis Drug, which currently operates more than 30 locations. “Obviously, in 70 years, things worked out well and we continue to evolve.”

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.


June 21, 2012
PDUFA reauthorization moves toward resolution

Faced with the possibility of a critical cutoff in funding for the Food and Drug Administration, Congress moved in late May to reauthorize the Prescription Drug User Fee Act that provides the bulk of the agency’s resources for new-drug review and approval. 


Faced with the possibility of a critical cutoff in funding for the Food and Drug Administration, Congress moved in late May to reauthorize the Prescription Drug User Fee Act that provides the bulk of the agency’s resources for new-drug review and approval. 


June 21, 2012
Pharmacists play role in Wash. pertussis epidemic

Recently, a disease that was long a deadly scourge in the United States has resurfaced: whooping cough.


Recently, a disease that was long a deadly scourge in the United States has resurfaced: whooping cough.


June 21, 2012
Pinpointing the cause of nonadherence

It’s been cited as one of the biggest health crises facing the United States and, if solved, the equivalent dollar value of a blockbuster drug. According to the latest statistics from pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts, poor medication adherence costs the country $317 billion per year, an upgrade from the $290 billion calculated in a study released in 2009 by the New England Healthcare Institute.


It’s been cited as one of the biggest health crises facing the United States and, if solved, the equivalent dollar value of a blockbuster drug. According to the latest statistics from pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts, poor medication adherence costs the country $317 billion per year, an upgrade from the $290 billion calculated in a study released in 2009 by the New England Healthcare Institute.


June 21, 2012
Q&A: World of success

Pacific World is a provider of nail care products and beauty accessories and sells its products in more than 85,000 doors in more than 80 countries. Joel Carden, EVP of Pacific World, recently talked with Drug Store News about what has led to the global beauty company’s success and how it continues to achieve growth through retailer partnerships, innovation and mergers.


Pacific World is a provider of nail care products and beauty accessories and sells its products in more than 85,000 doors in more than 80 countries. Joel Carden, EVP of Pacific World, recently talked with Drug Store News about what has led to the global beauty company’s success and how it continues to achieve growth through retailer partnerships, innovation and mergers.


June 21, 2012
Sansone, Leonardi headline Elevation Forum

How is it that some companies seem to thrive in an environment of uncertainty — even chaos — while most others fail?

How is it that some companies seem to thrive in an environment of uncertainty — even chaos — while most others fail? Understanding how the winners are able to embrace the paradox of control and the uncontrollable, and how two leading retail organizations are doing it every day across thousands of stores, was the key focus of the most recent Mack Elevation Forum meeting, held April 20 in Palm Beach, Fla.


June 21, 2012
Specialty prices, cost shifting raise alarms

Specialty and biologically engineered medicines have been a boon to millions of Americans with life-threatening and life-altering conditions. But their lofty prices are squeezing patients and payers and spawning a growing legislative backlash that threatens insurers and employer-based health plans.

Specialty and biologically engineered medicines have been a boon to millions of Americans with life-threatening and life-altering conditions. But their lofty prices are squeezing patients and payers and spawning a growing legislative backlash that threatens insurers and employer-based health plans.

“The imperative to find cost-effective alternatives to biologics reflects the growing demand for these specialty drugs,” IMS Health noted. “Since their origins in the 1980s, biologics have prospered into a U.S. $138 billion market [in 2010].”