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Technology in retail pharmacies has traditionally 
meant the adoption of robotic dispensing systems and electronic health records, but in recent years, pharmacy retailers have been bringing technology to the consumer level.


In September, Rite Aid teamed up with OptumHealth to become the first to provide “virtual clinics” in a retail pharmacy setting in some stores in the Detroit area.


BOSTON — Global private equity firm Advent International has announced that Tom Ryan, former chairman and CEO of CVS Caremark, has joined the firm’s Operating Partner Program. In this role, Ryan will advise and work closely with Advent’s investment professionals to identify opportunities and generate post-investment value at retail and healthcare companies globally.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Harris Teeter and Washington, D.C., Ward 6 council member Tommy Wells joined forces Thursday to offer a $10,000 donation to Jan’s Tutoring House, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., that pairs children with volunteers who provide one-on-one tutoring and mentoring.

NEW YORK — A recent consumer survey debunked the two long-assumed scenarios surrounding the moment a shopper actually makes a shopping decision — before they've entered the store as part of a planned purchase or at the shelf on an impulse.

For years, the retailing industry has debated between those who argue a shopper’s mind is mostly made up before they even enter the store and those who assert the real decision what to buy comes down to a final few seconds at the shelf. In fact it is neither, according to a recent survey of U.S. consumers.

WASHINGTON — Only one stakeholder stands to gain from the proposed merger of Express Scripts and Medco — and that would be the new “mega PBM” the deal would create, not payers, and definitely not patients, either.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — The use of over-the-counter medicines as a cost savings tool is catching on, of all places, at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. Certain plans under Medicare are utilizing a new prepaid card of sorts to allow members to pay for their OTC medicines. Medicaid administrators, meanwhile, are employing that same card to incentivize healthier behavior among its members.

SUNBURY, Pa. — Weis Markets earlier this week named Regina Tator as its director of private brands. 

Tator succeeds Bruno Garisto, who was recently named VP center store sales and merchandising. Tator will oversee the product development and sales and marketing for the company’s 6,300 private-brand products, including center store, healthy and beauty care, and perishable private products.

NEW YORK — Walt Disney Studios is slated to release three films on Blu-ray and the latest seasons of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice" on DVD.

"The Tempest," "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and the "Count of Monte Cristo" each will be released as a single-disc Blu-ray. "The Tempest" will carry a suggested retail price of $39.99, while "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and the "Count of Monte Cristo" will carry a suggested retail price of $26.50.

LONDON and ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Unilever announced on Wednesday that it has completed the sale of the Alberto VO5 brand in the United States and Puerto Rico and the Rave brand globally to private equity firm Brynwood Partners, following approval by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Terms were not disclosed.

Outside the United States and Puerto Rico, the Alberto VO5 brand will remain in Unilever’s portfolio.

PHOENIX — Specialty pharmacy provider The Apothecary Shops made a big jump in Inc. magazine's list of the country's fastest-growing private companies, the chain said Wednesday.

The Apothecary Shops ranked No. 1,640 in the annual "Inc. 5000" list, 754 spots higher than in 2010, and 1,076 higher than in 2009.

"The fact that we continue moving up on the 'Inc. 5000' list reflects the focus, hard work and commitment of our entire team, especially in a struggling economy," Apothecary Shops president Keith Cook said.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — It's a strategic next step in retail pharmacy, a setting that has fast evolved as the intrinsic destination for all health-related matters: health advice, self-care solutions, medication therapy management, compliance programs, acute-care services and now, if the reports turn out to be accurate, branded healthcare insurance. And by the time this offering would be available in 2014, the need for affordable healthcare insurance may go well beyond the 48.6 million uninsured that exist today.

NEW YORK — Walgreens is planning to sell health insurance as soon as this fall, CNNMoney reported Tuesday morning.

Walgreens declined to comment on the matter, according to the report.

The Chicago-based pharmacy-and-more operator would sell health insurance products with different price ranges and coverage levels across its network nationwide through a private health insurance exchange, CNNMoney reported, citing people familiar with the plan.