CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. has expanded its wellness+ customer loyalty program. Executives say the revamped program, which went into effect this month, will deliver more value to customers. Cardholders will find it easier to shop and save at Rite Aid, they say, with exclusive access to the drug store industry’s first coupon
NEW YORK — Extending the horizons of its innovative 40 Wall St. store, Duane Reade has opened a midtown Manhattan drug store with still more novel food and beauty care offerings. The 20,000-square-foot store at 52nd Street and Broadway formerly was a 3,100-square-foot Duane Reade Express outlet. New features in the “up market” food-to-go area
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Community pharmacy advocates say concerns by 40 members of Congress that proposed Medicaid reimbursement rates are inadequate could eventually lead to changes in the plan. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores and National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) say that a letter sent by Rep. Bruce Braley (D., Iowa) and Mike Rogers
NEW YORK — Walgreen Co. corporate vice president and chief innovation officer Colin Watts has left the chain to join Weight Watchers International Inc. as senior vice president of wellness and global innovation. In his new role Watts will oversee the Weight Watchers’ North American B2B/health care business and will head the company’s global innovation
ST. LOUIS — About 60 Medicine Shoppe International (MSI) and Medicap pharmacy owners have filed an arbitration claim against their franchisors alleging lack of support. The franchisees announced their breach-of-contract claim last month. Cardinal Health Inc., parent company of MSI and Medicap, denied the allegations. “The overwhelming majority of our franchisees are pleased with the
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Hy-Vee chairman and chief executive officer Ric Jurgens says he will retire in June. At Hy-Vee’s annual meeting last month, the 62-year-old Jurgens said he feels that the chain, which operates more than 200 food and pharmacy stores and about 25 stand-alone drug stores, has reached the point where he
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Community pharmacy in Canada is grappling with a new reality as payers strive to limit drug expenditures and other health care costs while opportunities open up for pharmacists to deliver new, remunerated services. The Pharmacy Forum that the Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy organized November 23 and November 24 here aimed to provide
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — With a recent study from IBM showing the percentage of consumers using mobile devices to shop has nearly tripled over the past year, CVS/pharmacy has made its entire cvs.com catalog available through its mobile site. “Our new mobile shopping site offers digitally minded shoppers a superior on-the-go retail shopping experience,” senior vice
Mark Cosby made his first public appearance as CVS/pharmacy president last month during CVS Caremark’s 2011 conference for investors and financial analysts. For anyone who may have had doubts about the wisdom of recruiting a department store executive to a run a drug chain, his performance was reassuring. First and foremost, Cosby, who prior to
Some recent media coverage of the biopharmaceutical industry has painted something of a doomsday picture — patent cliffs, stagnant pipelines, the end of the blockbuster era, etc. In reality, the prospects of the biopharmaceutical sector — for patients in search of new medicines, for policy makers seeking value in the health care system and for
