Content about Pharmacy

DSN's Pharmacy Technology Report takes a look at the hottest technology in the health-and-wellness space and where investors are looking to take health IT in the future. Also included is DSN's exclusive roundtable discussion with leading pharmacy retailers and executives from leading and emerging healthcare technology companies, which included new technologies to improve compliance, self-care and pharmacist-patient interactions.

AUDIO Q&A: Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy in late February released data showing that both patients and their health plans can realize savings of up to 60% on the cost of infused specialty medications by choosing alternate treatment sites, such as the ones fielded by Walgreens.

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.

As part of its Executive Retailer Viewpoint series, DSN sat down with Mike Cantrell, president at Good Neighbor Pharmacies, at DSN's Industry Issues Summit to discuss technology and the evolution of pharmacy care.

In an effort to tap into the minds of some of the industry's top executives, Drug Store News recently sat down and talked with some of these leaders in a multipart executive viewpoint video series.

This powerful series, sponsored by Pfizer, is comprised of five different on-camera executive interviews that are a must see for anyone working within the retail pharmacy industry.

Over the years, CVS Caremark has grown from a go-getting New England-based regional player to a nearly $100 billion pharmacy healthcare giant known for its vertically integrated pharmacy-PBM model via the 2007 acquisition of Caremark, its highly successful loyalty card program and its innovative beauty concepts.

85% — POW! — that’s more or less the combined market share for the companies that make up the 2011 DSN PoweRx50, approximately $185 billion of the total $218 billion retail pharmacy industry. Numbering almost 50,000 stores among them, or more than 8-of-10 of all the pharmacies in the United States — BAM! — the DSN PoweRx50 indisputably reflects the true titans of the retail pharmacy industry.

Talk about a bold retail vision. Walgreens president and CEO Greg Wasson said the nation’s top pharmacy retailer wants nothing less than to “own well.” He’s serious. Owning “well” — or, put another way, becoming the nation’s top retail resource for pharmacy and health-and-wellness services and products — is the kind of declaration few retail pharmacy executives would dare utter. But Wasson isn’t running just any drug store chain.

DUBLIN — Irish drug maker Elan Corp. is paying about $380 million to buy one drug maker and a large stake in another, the company said.

Elan announced plans to buy Vienna-based AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals for about $340 million, a company that specializes in drugs for rare conditions in a variety of areas, including cancer, neurology and metabolic disorders. Elan also paid an initial $40 million to buy a 48% stake in Newbridge Pharmaceuticals, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Elan will have the option to buy the rest of the company for $244 million by 2015.

PASADENA, Calif. — A new vaccine against pneumococcal disease appears as safe as an older one, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by Kaiser Permanente and published Wednesday in the journal Vaccine, compared the new 13-valent vaccine with the seven-valent one used before 2010. The Food and Drug Administration approved the newer vaccine, called PCV13, in 2010 after a series of trials. The valent number refers to the number of varieties of pneumococcal disease the vaccine prevents.

As many as 58% of consumers are likely to purchase beauty services — such as manicures or brow shaping — at a drug store on an independent visit or while waiting for a prescription to be filled, according to an online survey of almost 700 AccentHealth viewers conducted in April. And of those likely to use services, 55% indicated they would fill a prescription at a pharmacy that they wouldn't typically use if not for the beauty services.

To see more Patient Views, click here

AccentHealth found that more than half of viewers make personal product purchases when filling a prescription at the pharmacy, according to an online survey of almost 700 AccentHealth viewers conducted in April. There is opportunity for growth as 7-out-of-10 consumers indicated that they are likely to purchase beauty and hygiene products when filling a prescription in the future.

To see more Patient Views, click here