The practice of pharmacy continues to gain recognition as an integral part of the rapidly changing health care system. As 2016 gets under way, chain drug retailers are seeking ways to elevate the status of the profession even more — getting the most out of its continued movement away from a dispensing foundation toward a
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart has had a long history of making health care more accessible and affordable. From the launch of $4 generics in 2006 to the recent introduction of Walmart Care Clinics, which promise to have the same kind of impact on pricing in that sector as the earlier program did in pharmacy, the
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Over the course of the past decade, CVS Health has undergone profound changes, transforming itself from a traditional drug store operator into a health care innovation company. One constant throughout the process has been the rock-solid performance of the front-end retail business to which the company traces its origins. Health and beauty
For 2015, the editors of Chain Drug Review have chosen to give the publication’s annual Retailer of the Year honors to two chain drug retail industry leaders: Stefano Pessina, executive vice chairman and CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., and the management team at Rite Aid Corp., led by chairman and CEO John Standley. Pessina’s
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. have inked a distribution deal that will cut prices of Valeant prescription products at Walgreens by 10%, and may be extended to independent retail pharmacies. The discount will apply to wholesale list prices and will be phased in over the next six to nine months. The
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health Corp. has completed the acquisition of Target Corp.’s pharmacy and clinic businesses, making CVS the No. 1 drug chain by store count and sales. With the closing of the $1.9 billion deal, CVS has picked up Target’s 1,672 pharmacies across 47 states, giving it more than 9,500 prescription counters. Walgreens
CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. stockholders will vote next month on the company’s merger with Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA). Rite Aid has scheduled a February 4 special stockholders meeting for the balloting. Stockholders as of the close of business on December 18 will be eligible to vote. Rite Aid and WBA also announced
NEW YORK — CVS Health has raised the midpoint of its earnings outlook for 2016 and reiterated its five-year steady state targets. The company now expects next year’s adjusted earnings per share to range from $5.73 to $5.88, reflecting solid year-over-year growth of 11.25% to 14.25%. The bottom end of the range was increased by
NEW YORK — Drug chains were not immune to the shift in holiday shopping away from brick-and-mortar retailing, as sales growth barely exceeded 4%. That was down from last season’s 4.4% advance in holiday retail sales, and well off the 5.4% gain of five years ago. Same-store sales were up 1.8%, virtually unchanged from 2014.
ARLINGTON, Va. — John Boehner, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, will deliver the keynote address at the 2016 NACDS Annual Meeting. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores said that Boehner (R., Ohio) will speak on Sunday, April 17, during the Business Program at this year’s NACDS Annual Meeting in Palm
WASHINGTON — Republican opponents of President Obama’s health care law may do better by dismantling the Affordable Care Act piece by piece. Under the budget deal passed by Congress and signed by the president last month, a widely criticized tax on high-cost employer health insurance plans has been delayed and two taxes already being collected
SAN ANTONIO — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell stopped at an H-E-B grocery store here, where she drew attention to the December 15 enrollment deadline for consumers who wanted their health insurance plans to become active on January 1. Although open enrollment for 2016 health insurance plans continued through
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart has named a new chief marketing officer to take the place of the outgoing Stephen Quinn. As of this month, Tony Rogers will return to the company’s Bentonville headquarters from China, where he has served as Walmart’s chief marketing officer for the past two years managing traditional, digital and social media
PRINCETON, N.J. — Although pharmacists scored high, nurses topped Gallup’s Honesty and Ethics of Professions rankings for 2015, a feat that they have accomplished every year but one since they were added to the list in 1999. The exception is 2001, when firefighters were included on the list on a onetime basis, shortly after the
