Content about In this Issue

Pharmacists are widely considered the most accessible healthcare professionals, and their expanded responsibilities have made this more true than ever before. In many parts of the country, however, especially remote and rural regions, even pharmacists can be about as easy to find as a cornfield in New York City. But technology is helping pharmacists provide services to rural areas by allowing them to remotely monitor pharmacy technicians, according to the country’s largest organization that certifies pharmacy techs.


Sales of coconut water continue to soar. According to a recent report from Mintel, the U.S. market for coconut water was around $350 million in 2011, representing 2% of the total fruit juice and drinks sales. The report suggested that coconut water offers growth opportunity in an otherwise maturing fruit juice/drinks market; in all three outlets, coconut water sales grew by 165% to $59 million during 2010-2011.

At first blush, there appears to be nothing special about Dollar General’s first Southern California store in the suburb of Montclair. It occupies about 7,500 sq. ft. of space in an aging strip center, and a small banner hung on the exterior beckons to passing motorists and pedestrians, “Now Open.” Inside, more signs explain the bare-bones merchandising of familiar brands to shoppers unfamiliar with the Dollar General value proposition.

NEW YORK — One of the first lessons in life that children learn is that getting sick isn’t fun, and going to the pharmacy isn’t too exciting either. In 2004, pharmacist Charles Tabouchirani decided to change that by opening Cherry’s Pharmacy, a store that specializes in dealing with children.

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.

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. 


Medication nonadherence costs the U.S. healthcare system about $290 billion per year, according to New England Healthcare Institute. That big and scary number — the kind whose sheer enormity can make one’s eyes glaze over — is now even bigger.


ScriptPro has released a new pharmacy robot that it said would have the smallest footprint of its robotics lineup.


The Mission, Kan.-based pharmacy automation manufacturer announced the launch of the Compact Robotic System, which takes up 7 sq. ft. and is designed for tight spaces and pharmacies with lower volumes that want to improve patient safety and operational efficiency.


It’s been more than 200 years since the first successful test of a vaccine against smallpox, and since then, vaccines have become one of the most important means of preventing and eradicating infectious diseases, ranging from minor ailments like the flu to devastating ones like polio.


Get set for another decade of explosive growth throughout the over-the-counter category with the familiar switch as a catalyst. 


The Food and Drug Administration public meeting that took place last month addressed a proposal to expand the switch paradigm by utilizing the latest in communications and diagnostics technology and/or incorporating the most accessible healthcare professional — the retail pharmacist — into the self-care decision protocol. 


A typical retail pharmacy is equipped to handle most of the prescription needs of its customers, whether they have a skin rash, chronic illness or the need for a vaccination against the flu or shingles.


With the plethora of health needs facing humans these days, it’s easy to forget that Fluffy and Fido have a few health needs of their own — needs that are driving sales of prescription drugs for pets and opening opportunities for pharmacy retailers.


Move over dump bins, endcap displays and newspaper circulars and make room for the new high-tech kid on the retail block — digitization.
Smartphones and the concept of digital coupons may not be so new, but what is relatively new to the mass market and becoming increasingly pervasive throughout the industry is the use of mobile technologies and social networking platforms — by both retailers and manufacturers — to customize offers for today’s shopper.