CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. reported its first quarterly profit since May 2007, thanks largely to generic drug sales that bolstered gross margin as well as improved front-end sales. The bottom line for the 13-week fiscal 2013 third quarter ended December 1 swung to a net profit of $61.9 million, or 7 cents
TORONTO — Denise Carpenter has been named president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores. Before joining CACDS, she served as president and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Association (CNA) from 2009 to 2012. In that capacity Carpenter led the development and implementation of a multiyear strategic plan to support
NEW YORK — CVS Caremark Inc. will continue to bring innovative ideas and services to the health care market, the company’s executives told dozens of Wall Street analysts gathered here last month for the company’s annual analysts day. “We are a pharmacy innovation company, a company whose purpose is to help people on their path
NEW YORK — The early arrival of Thanksgiving lifted chain drug holiday sales above last year’s levels. Total sales rose 4.6%, with same-store volume climbing 2.4%, as customers took advantage of extra holiday shopping days, according to research by Racher Press Inc., the publisher of Chain Drug Review. Last year’s numbers, when Thanksgiving fell two
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal appeals court here affirmed California’s right to cut reimbursement payments to Medi-Cal providers by 10%. While the rollback in payments to physicians, pharmacists and others serving those covered by California’s Medicaid program was hailed by government officials as a way to trim more than $330 million a year from California’s
MIAMI — Navarro Discount Pharmacy has opened its 32nd store, located in Miami’s Kendall section. “The new store in West Kendall is well positioned in the Kendale Lakes Plaza among other discount brand retailers,” said president and chief executive officer Juan Ortiz. “We are also pleased to return to the Kendall area and to meet
SEATTLE — Bartell Drugs has announced the selection of Rob Jensen as chief financial officer. The community pharmacy operator noted that Jensen previously was senior vice president and CFO at Car Toys, a Seattle-based retailer of mobile entertainment, performance accessories and wireless phones. Jensen, a graduate of Washington State University, has spent more than two
ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has promoted David Fitzsimmons to senior vice president of finance and administration. Previously NACDS’ vice president of finance and accounting, Fitzsimmons succeeds Jim Huber, who retired last month as executive vice president and chief financial officer after 25 years with the association. A certified public
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy has acquired 19 of Medicine Chest’s 29 drug stores in Texas. Executives say the company will keep nine of the stores open and absorb the others into nearby existing CVS locations. Plans call for Medicine Chest to continue to operate its remaining 10 stores. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
ARLINGTON, Va. — North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan continues to be hailed by community pharmacy advocates for her efforts to improve patient care. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores, for instance, recently cited the Democratic lawmaker for her continued leadership on behalf of pharmacy patient care. In a recent letter to Senate majority leader
WASHINGTON — Half the states in the country have refused to create the health insurance exchanges called for under the health care reform law, according to data compiled by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. As of late last month, 18 states and the District of Columbia intended to operate their own exchanges. Another seven,
CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. will leverage the Surescripts Network for Clinical Interoperability to electronically deliver patient immunization notifications directly to health care providers. The partnership between Surescripts and the retail pharmacy operator should allow timely electronic delivery of immunization notifications from the pharmacies to health care providers, which should help to significantly
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. — AmerisourceBergen Corp. has named Peyton Howell as a corporate senior vice president and as president of global sourcing and manufacturer relations. Howell was most recently senior vice president of business development at AmerisourceBergen and president of AmerisourceBergen Consulting Services, a business unit. She was also a founder and president of Lash
As the new year begins, retail pharmacy operators are confronted with a host of pressing issues that will affect the measure of success they can achieve as health care providers and business enterprises. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act; the nation’s long-term budget and deficit problems; and the state of the economy, to name just
