Merchandising in the OTC space has certainly changed over the past decade. Gone is the “stack-‘em-high-and-let-‘em-fly” approach to planogramming. It’s a cleaner, less-cluttered shopping experience. And the complexity behind that shopping experience is changing.

DSN sat down with Calvin Peters, Duane Reade's PR/online manager, to talk about the launch of the social game Ingress, a mobile platform utilizing location-based services to bridge the game into the physical world, and how the company hopes the game will be the next rung in the evolutionary ladder of social retailing helping to drive foot traffic into its stores.

One of the biggest questions the average person might have about specialty pharmacy is, well, what the heck is it?

To see what's hot for fall/winter 2013 and how nail is meeting fashion with the help of Red Carpet Manicure, DSNTV went backstage at Noon by Noor at New York Fashion Week to talk with celebrity manicurist Elle. So what are some of the hottest nail trends, and which shades of Red Carpet Manicure graced the nails of runway models?

The generic drug tidal wave became a tsunami in 2012, with some of the world's top-selling pharmaceuticals swamped by generic competition, and health plan payers scrambling to reap billions of dollars in financial savings.

Money is a powerful motivator. Look no further than the sports world for validation. The PGA’s FedEx Cup encourages golfers to earn “points” towards participation in playoffs that offer a big season-ending payoff. Tennis has a similar format with the U.S. Open Series where performance in a series of events equates to a huge prize purse. Both instances use hefty prize money to help ensure the top performers participate and at high levels. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have applied this sports theory to its rankings system of Medicare Advantage (MA) and Prescription Drug Plans (PDP) plans. And there’s billions of dollars up-for-grabs for healthcare plans.

Even as the big chains get bigger, the industry's top regional chains continue to grow in relevance and importance in the markets they dominate. In this special digital report, DSN profiles the leading regional pharmacy chains in food, drug and mass, with a special focus on what makes each one unique.

In celebration of its involvement in the "People's Choice Awards," which aired in early January, Walgreens hosted "Night at the W" events at stores nationwide. Sure not to miss this Red Carpet event, DSNTV went behind the scenes to talk with Walgreens district manager Jerry Telson and Walgreens senior beauty adviser Erianny Diaz in Manhattan to learn more about "Night at the W" and how Walgreens continues to elevate the beauty experience at mass.

Medagate recently executed the first implementation of its 2.0 restricted-spend platform, which encourages eligible consumers to make healthy living choices by purchasing qualified items at the point of sale, through Fred's Super Dollar stores. DSN sat down with Medagate president Devin Wade to discuss the breadth of the program and his company's future plans.

The Obama administration recently stressed the importance of increasing coverage of HIV treatment, as well as increasing access to HIV testing and counseling. It's an initiative that Walgreens, with more than 700 HIV-specialized pharmacies and over 2,000 pharmacists with special HIV/AIDS-accredited educational training, follows closely. Walgreens' senior manager for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis pharmacy services Glen Pietrandoni talked with DSN on the scope of Walgreens' HIV/AIDS services.

Everybody talks product innovation, but how do you identify the voids in consumers’ lives that no one else yet sees? DSN.TV took to the streets of New York City in November to ask consumers, “If a company could create a revolutionary new product that met some unfulfilled need in your life, what would it be?”

DSN looks back on the past year's most influential events in the pharmacy industry, from Obamacare and record patent expirations to Humira surpassing Lipitor as the world's top-selling drug and the merger of Walgreens and Alliance Boots.