ST. PAUL, Minn. — Patterson Cos. has hired Mark Walchirk, a key executive at McKesson Corp., as its next president and chief executive officer, with a starting date of November 20. Walchirk will succeed James Wiltz, who has been serving in those roles on an interim basis since the departure of Scott Anderson on June
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health has announced two major agreements to boost pharmacy benefit management services. The company late last month introduced a 30,000-store performance-based pharmacy network anchored by CVS Pharmacy and Walgreens designed to deliver savings and improved clinical outcomes for CVS Caremark PBM members. That followed the company’s announcement of a five-year deal
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — At presstime The Wall Street Journal along with other news agencies reported that CVS Health will offer more than $200 per share, or about $66 billion, to purchase the health insurance giant Aetna Inc. Anonymous sources cited by WSJ originated the story about a potential CVS-Aetna deal. The possible transaction comes as
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) is developing the picture of its future store base after turning the page on a nearly two-year process triggered by its proposed merger with Rite Aid Corp. Beginning next spring, WBA plans to shut 600 stores under an 18-month program to rationalize its U.S. drug store network
WASHINGTON — It’s clear that America’s growing opioid epidemic is getting worse. Last month President Trump stopped short of declaring the crisis a national emergency and directed the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency instead. Though this less urgent designation puts Congress in charge of dispensing
WASHINGTON — The future of the bipartisan bill to stabilize health insurance markets remained uncertain after President Trump sent mixed signals about the health reform legislation. GOP senators who met with Trump late last month said he had withheld his backing for the bill, which would temporarily restore insurance subsidies that the president had blocked
GREAT NECK, N.Y. — Rep. Tom Suozzi (D., N.Y.) got an education on drug cost dynamics during a tour of oncology pharmacy Onco360 here with members of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP). Vice chairman of the Problem Solvers Caucus in the House of Representatives, Suozzi said he made the visit to learn more
CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. has named Derek Griffith executive vice president of store operations. Griffith had been serving as senior vice president of operations in the retailer’s Northeast and Midwest regions. In his new position, Griffith will have oversight for all aspects of the company’s drug stores in more than 30 states
WINDSOR, Ontario — Big V Drug Stores cofounder Tony Crncich passed away October 18. He was 87. Crncich is being remembered for his storied career as builder of one of the largest retail pharmacy chains in Ontario. The chain he helped launch in 1962 grew to encompass 135 stores. Big V — at the time
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health has expanded its safe medication disposal program with in-store kiosks. The new disposal units inside 750 CVS Pharmacy stores will add to the more than 800 CVS medication disposal kiosks the company has donated to law enforcement officials across the country. Those units have collected more than 100 metric tons
DEERFIELD, Ill. — In its continuing efforts to combat the opioid drug epidemic plaguing the country, Walgreens has announced it is now stocking Narcan in all of its more than 8,000 pharmacies nationwide. The Food and Drug Administration-approved nasal spray, which is a form of naloxone, can be used in the event of an overdose
TORONTO — Loblaw Cos. is making investments in digital and e-commerce services with savings it plans to net from terminating 500 jobs, though the company did not speculate on how much it would save. The cuts, which the Canadian food and drug retailer announced last month, will affect employees within the executive and management ranks,
More often than not, independent drug stores are overshadowed by the big retail chains. While it’s understandable why individual pharmacists who own one or two locations do not receive the same level of attention as the top pharmacy operators, the largest of which each have thousands of stores across the United States, in the aggregate
The impact of a healthy population and vibrant workforce on the ability of the economy to sustain growth should not be underestimated. While Congress has been mired in a political debate around the near-term costs and burden of the Affordable Care Act, lost from this deeply partisan discussion is a tangible, forward-thinking consideration of the
