SEATTLE — Bartell Drugs has launched a rewards program encouraging customers to pursue healthy lifestyles. The initiative is a joint venture with EveryMove, an online program that rewards people for healthy choices. Customers who sign up for the rewards program will earn rewards such as Bartell gift cards as they track healthy lifestyle activities at
NEW YORK — A recent study showing that long-term multivitamin use may lower cancer risk among men has the nation’s two largest drug chains promoting the role they can play in helping men ensure they take the right supplements. “Our pharmacists are available to discuss vitamin options with individuals and counsel them about potential side
Thrifty White Pharmacy, an 89-store Minnesota-based drug chain with stores in six prairie states, is rewriting the book on the way community pharmacy is, or could be, practiced in America. In a series of boldly conceived and flawlessly executed programs, all turning on a well-considered attempt to allow the pharmacist to consult with patients and
The walls that have demarcated areas of responsibility within the U.S. health care system are beginning to crumble, as payers, providers and patients seek better ways to ensure quality care and, at the same time, limit expenditures that are the highest in the world, consuming almost 18% of GDP. As both employers and providers, mass
NEW YORK — In the battle for market share among chain drug retailers, store formats are pre-empting numbers. Rather than seeking to dominate metropolitan areas by saturating them with new stores, drug chains are seeking to draw shoppers with distinctive retail concepts. Walgreen Co., which at one time was opening an outlet every 17 hours,
LEMOYNE, Pa. — About a year and a half after the debut of its first “wellness store,” Rite Aid Corp. has ushered in the next generation of the concept. The drug chain unveiled a new iteration of the wellness format — known internally as “Genuine Well-Being” — this month at a store here, near the
TORONTO — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty opted to himself announce the introduction of regulations that extend the powers of pharmacists. He could have left that duty to Minister of Health and Long Term Care Deb Matthews, whose department had the responsibility for framing the regulations for pharmacy practice and will administer them. But, clearly, the
ROGERS, Ark. — Walmart is ramping up its small-store rollout, with plans to add 95 to 115 Neighborhood Market units next year. That would be up from a projected 80 additions in the current year. “This gives us the opportunity to build more stores for less money,” Bill Simon, president of the company’s U.S. division,
NEW YORK — In previous issues Chain Drug Review has presented some of the major findings from the Pharmacy Satisfaction Pulse Survey by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. The September 24 issue highlighted the pharmacy industry’s strengths and best practices. Future issues will explore topics including loyalty programs and medication adherence. This issue, however, examines opportunities
NEW YORK — Retail sales growth slowed in September, according to monthly sales figures released by a number of large U.S. retailers. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, which tracks 22 retailers, sales for the month rose 3.9%, down from a 6% increase in August. The Thompson Reuters news service, which tracks 19
WASHINGTON — Associations serve a vital function as the “fifth estate” in the 21st century American democracy, National Association of Chain Drug Stores president and chief executive officer Steve Anderson told an audience of more than 1,100 association members here earlier this month. Speaking at the 13th Annual Summit Awards Dinner, presented by the American
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreen Co. has partnered with singer/celebrity Taylor Swift to introduce the “Taylor Swift Store at Walgreens,” featuring a selection of her music and other merchandise. The collection is available in Walgreens and select Duane Reade locations. “Our relationship with Taylor provides customers with convenient access to her broad range of merchandise, enabling
SAN FRANCISCO — McKesson Corp. has renewed its distribution contract with Rite Aid Corp., its second-largest customer, in a pact that stretches into 2016. The renewal, which was disclosed in a regulatory filing by Rite Aid, came earlier than was anticipated. The new pact extends the companies’ relationship by three years to March 31, 2016.
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark Corp.’s MinuteClinic unit now offers care across the country to members of Tricare, the health insurance program for military personnel (including retirees) and their families. MinuteClinic has reached an agreement with TriWest, the Western region plan contractor for Tricare. Through TriWest, Tricare provides health care insurance services to 2.9 million
