SAN DIEGO — Acknowledging the significant advancements made by retail pharmacies and pharmacists, National Association of Chain Drug Stores chairman Larry Merlo noted that “the road ahead is still wide open, and the challenges and opportunities it brings are tremendous.” Speaking at the NACDS Pharmacy and Technology Conference, Merlo, who is also president and chief
SAN DIEGO — Continuing its efforts to engage on pro-pharmacy, pro-patient issues from policy and political perspectives, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores launched a “get-out-the-vote” effort and recognized the political engagement of two member companies at the 2010 NACDS Pharmacy and Technology Conference held here last month. Those actions followed the appointment of
WASHINGTON — In a triumph for pharmacy, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed withdrawing provisions of the Medicaid average manufacturer price (AMP) rule. “The move to withdraw these provisions is a victory for patient care as it is delivered in America’s pharmacies every day,” National Association of Chain Drug Stores president
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreen Co. made a pair of purchases earlier this month, adding 18 drug stores to its network and swapping its long-term care operation for a bigger stake in the home infusion business. The new stores, in five Midwestern and Western states, are former ApothecaryRx LLC units that Walgreens acquired from Graymark Healthcare
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Eleven members of the Chain Drug Consortium have formed the Chain Pharmacy Alliance (CPA) as a contractual joint venture to aggregate their generic pharmaceutical volume into one compliant program. “The CPA will drive increased generic purchasing value for its members and deliver consistent, dedicated high volume to its suppliers,” comments Edward
NEW YORK — After last year’s vaccine shortages and the worries over an H1N1 pandemic, community pharmacy chains are stepping up their efforts to provide flu vaccines this year. Both CVS Caremark Corp. and Rite Aid Corp. have cut the price of a flu vaccination, with CVS trimming the cost from $35 a year ago
NOVI, Mich. — Fruth Pharmacy veteran Bob Messick has joined the Chain Drug Marketing Association (CDMA) as the organization’s senior vice president, a new position. At Fruth, Messick most recently served as president and chief operating officer. “Bob’s past retail experience with Fruth Pharmacy for 28 years will be a positive addition to our CDMA
SAN DIEGO — As part of its ongoing effort to combat prescription drug abuse, Cardinal Health Inc. highlighted its Generation Rx toolkit at this year’s National Association of Chain Drug Stores Pharmacy and Technology Conference here. Developed in conjunction with Ohio State University College of Pharmacy, Generation Rx offers community pharmacies the communications materials needed
SAN DIEGO — H.D. Smith senior vice president of strategic planning Joe Conda was given the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ Harold W. Pratt Award at the association’s annual Pharmacy & Technology Conference held here last month. An NACDS spokeswoman notes that Conda, who has spent four decades in the pharmacy industry, has led
These are difficult days for the supplier community. Where drug chains and other mass retailers once approached suppliers as partners, they now largely see them only as adversaries, obstacles to be overcome or threatened into submission. Where once bargaining was an integral part of the buyer-seller relationship, retailers now routinely dictate terms — leaving suppliers
The great American historian Henry Adams wrote, “Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.” If that’s the case, retail pharmacy finds itself in an environment that makes the profession ripe for rejuvenation. While chaos is too strong a word for the present situation, the health care system has been put on a path toward
