Amazon’s success as a pioneer of online retailing is unquestioned, and it continues to be a disruptor to brick-and-mortar retailers (most recently, grocery retailers). But the e-tail giant’s alternatives in the pharmacy space — which CNBC reported it has targeted — aren’t so clear cut, according to pharmacy supply chain expert Adam Fein. “I would
Amazon’s move into groceries shook up the food retail scene. That scenario may be in store for pharmacies. CNBC reported Tuesday evening that Amazon is ushering in a “business lead” to explore a foray into the pharmacy business and that the company has stepped up recruiting from the pharmacy arena. Citing unidentified sources, CNBC said
Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid last week said they’ve complied with the Federal Trade Commission’s second request for information on their merger deal. But it appears the FTC still wants to know more. The New York Post reported Tuesday that the FTC has issued civil investigative demands (CIDs) to Walgreens vendors and competitors to
Westlake Health Mart Pharmacy in Forth Worth, Texas, understands what today’s pharmacy customer wants: convenience and digital access. The new Health Mart, serving the Dallas-Fort Worth area, has a brick-and-mortar location but describes itself as a “digital pharmacy” whose “main goal is to provide medications in a timely manner, creating a convenient and stress-free service
Efforts to promote the importation of prescription drugs — seen by some as one way to mitigate the escalating cost of medications — could compromise the safety of the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain, according to HDA’s John Gray and NACDS’ Steve Anderson. In a blog post on Monday for the policy journal The Hill, Gray,
The push to repeal the Affordable Care Act is again under way, with the House this week passing the latest iteration of the G.O.P.’s American Health Care Act in a close vote. Coverage of essential health benefits and pre-existing conditions are among the key ACA benefits in the crosshairs. Worse, millions of Americans could end
Albertsons Cos. reportedly is eyeing Whole Foods Markets, but it appears such an acquisition would be difficult for the Boise-based food and drug retailer to swallow. The Financial Times reported this week that Cerberus Capital Management, which leads the investor group that owns Albertsons, has engaged in preliminary discussions with bankers about a possible bid
A lobbying event in Washington has triggered salvoes between two combatants: independent community pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers. The National Community Pharmacists Association is holding its Congressional Pharmacy Fly-In advocacy drive this week, where it will also release “The PBM Story: What They Say, What They Do, and What Can Be Done About It,” offered
Rite Aid saw its stock price sink to a 52-week low on Wednesday after a report that the Federal Trade Commission may challenge the drug chain’s acquisition by larger rival Walgreens Boots Alliance. Citing trade publication The Capital Forum, Bloomberg reported that the FTC was mulling a lawsuit to block the deal. Rite Aid’s share
Though eco-friendly products tend to cost more, U.S. shoppers will shell out extra if it does some good for the environment. A poll by market researcher GfK MRI found that 56% of American consumers are willing to pay more to use environmentally friendly products, up from 53% in 2010. GfK MRI’s Survey of the American
Amazon has sure fed the acquisition rumor mill recently. The latest scuttlebutt: The online retail giant is taking a look at BJ’s Wholesale Club. The New York Post has reported that privately held BJ’s is putting itself on the block after its ownership determined that an IPO was ill-timed. Citing anonymous sources, the Post article
A Canadian study has put a dollar figure on the impact that expanded pharmacy care could have in the larger realm of health care. The peer-reviewed research, “Cost-Effectiveness of Pharmacist Care for Managing Hypertension in Canada,” revealed that long-term pharmacist care for Canadians with hypertension — including patient education and prescribing — can improve health
Walgreens Boots Alliance has gone ahead and set a deadline for the Federal Trade Commission to approve its deal to acquire Rite Aid Corp. According to the New York Post, WBA has “certified compliance” in its application, meaning that it has provided the FTC with the information needed to determine if the Walgreens-Rite Aid merger
In recent years, physician groups have knocked the growth of retail health clinics as an encroachment on their turf. But health care market researcher Kalorama Information says that’s not necessarily the case. Consumers who have visited a retail clinic in the past year are much more apt to have seen a physician in that time
