Content about Walgreens

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Walgreens hasn’t finished knocking down its organizational silos.

(THE NEWS: Integrating health solutions for payers, Walgreens unifies pharmacy, wellness, led by Crawford. For the full story, click here)

The latest move came Monday, when the drug store and health services giant revealed the full outlines of its massive restructuring of all its healthcare operations.

February was a busy month for CVS Caremark. First it was a party on Beale Street as the chain announced its entry into Memphis. A week later, it broke out the pina coladas as it cut the ribbon on its first store in Puerto Rico. In January, it was Budweiser in St. Louis.

There are just eight states in which CVS does not operate stores: Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. In drug store retailing, being able to provide coverage “from sea to shining sea” means a lot when you try to sell your services to big healthcare payers.

DEERFIELD, Ill. Walgreens’ long campaign to overhaul and integrate its pharmacy and clinical health components culminated Monday in the company’s announcement that it had restructured its healthcare divisions to create a unified pharmacy, health and wellness solution. That solution, Walgreens reported, is tailored to meet the needs of employers, managed care organizations, pharmacy benefit managers and government clients searching for more cost-effective care for their health plan members.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT While the decision to move in this direction may have been made before Chong Bang crossed the border, there is no questioning that industry watchers will be focused on what SDM's new top merchant will do to further improve the stores.

(THE NEWS: Shoppers Drug Mart takes a page out of CCR playbook. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Is the merger agreement between Walgreens and Duane Reade another sign of rampant chain drug consolidation and attrition, or just a bold and long-expected move by two of the industry’s premier practitioners?

(THE NEWS: Walgreens to acquire Duane Reade. For the full story, click here)