NEW YORK — As much as the chain drug industry has consolidated, there is room for more mergers and acquisitions. That’s evident from the M&A speculation swirling about the sector in the U.S. and Canada, as well as recent activity. Lending credibility to the speculation is none other than Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) chief executive
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy is adding hearing centers in seven stores and providing optical services in another five. The hearing centers are debuting in greater Dallas and Cleveland, while the vision services will be unveiled around Washington, D.C./Baltimore. “Hearing and optical services are a great fit with the existing health offerings in our stores, including
WASHINGTON — The government vows to conduct an extensive outreach initiative during the Affordable Care Act’s upcoming open enrollment period in an attempt to enroll millions of eligible but difficult-to-reach Americans who have yet to sign up for health insurance. “Those who are still uninsured are going to be a bigger challenge,” Department of Health
WADSWORTH, Ohio — Ritzman Pharmacy has entered into an agreement with Pharmacy Innovations LLC, an affiliate of Northeast Ohio Medical University, to create a “pharmacy of the future.” With a planned opening in January 2016, the pharmacy will be located in the NEOMED Education and Wellness (NEW) Center. The pharmacy will be integrated within an
WASHINGTON — A pilot program for an enhanced medication therapy management model for Medicare Part D has been welcomed by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. While NACDS is reviewing with member companies the 2017 launch by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), association president and chief executive officer Steve Anderson said
NEW YORK — Consumers plan to make drug stores one of their main destinations for Halloween shopping this fall. Twenty-four percent of the 1,000 U.S. adults polled in the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Halloween Consumer Spending Survey cited chain drug stores such as CVS/pharmacy and Walgreens as a shopping venue for this season.
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens has launched Western Union Bill Payment services, provided via digital self-service kiosks, chainwide. The service will enable the drug chain’s customers to make payments to 15,000 billers in and outside the United States, according to Western Union Co. Located in more than 7,800 Walgreens and Duane Reade stores in the United
VANCOUVER, Wash. — Following a 12-year absence, Hi-School Pharmacy has returned to Vancouver with the opening of a new store. Hi-School says its new pharmacy, which opened last month at 3200 NE 52nd St., in the Minnehaha area, will bring the company’s unique blend of familiar customer service, variety of merchandise and community support back
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health has established two partnerships to drive faster innovation and expand areas of focus for connected health solutions. The company has joined with start-up accelerator MassChallenge and digital health venture fund Rock Health to propel digital health initiatives. The partnerships follow the opening of the CVS Digital Innovation Lab in June.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — After joining the company 26 years ago as a pharmacist, Rick Keyes has now become president of Meijer Inc. He takes over from J.K. Symancyk, who is leaving the supercenter chain to become the president and chief executive officer of Academy Sports + Outdoors, a sports and outdoor lifestyle retailer based
NEW YORK — Retailers this month became liable for credit card fraud if they did not upgrade point-of-sale equipment to accept chip-enabled cards. Chains had to be enabled for so-called EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) cards as of October 1 to avoid liability for fraud. The chip in the cards has a unique encryption code,
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy is reinforcing its long-standing commitment in the fight against the nationwide epidemic of prescription drug abuse. The retailer has expanded the availability of the opioid overdose reversal medicine, naloxone, in several states. The medication was already available at CVS/pharmacy without a prescription in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Naloxone is now available
MINNEAPOLIS — Sam Duncan, president and chief executive officer of Supervalu Inc., plans to retire early next year. Duncan, 63, is due to step down on February 29. A search for a new CEO has begun, within and outside the company, Supervalu said. Previously CEO of OfficeMax, Duncan became Supervalu’s CEO in February 2013 after
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Henry Dale Smith Sr., founder and chairman emeritus of H.D. Smith, the nation’s largest independent drug wholesaler, died at age 87. “The entire H.D. Smith family is deeply saddened by the loss of our founder and a pioneer in health care distribution,” said Henry Dale Smith Jr., his eldest son and current