The rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus has placed an enormous strain on the U.S. health care system, and we can expect that the pandemic will continue to impact retail pharmacies for the foreseeable future. In addition to the wide range of operational challenges facing retail pharmacies, the COVID-19 virus has sparked a number of
It is difficult to believe that two weeks have passed since our last update to Chain Drug Review readers on NACDS’ engagement in COVID-19 response. Much has happened during those two weeks. One very, very important fact remains the same. With their dedication, NACDS member pharmacies and their pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and team members on
Pharmacies have long been the front door to the country’s health care system. People choose their favorite pharmacy and make stopping by a habit. They drop in to pick up monthly prescriptions, ask the pharmacist for advice and, of course, snag retail items in the process. But can pharmacies hold on to this coveted position?
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Earlier this month, Walgreens president Richard Ashworth succeeded Chris Lane, executive vice president of Wakefern Food Corp., as chairman of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. The change in leadership went according to plan, but the manner in which it occurred did not. New chairmen normally take the reins at the
The basis of the relationship between retailers and their suppliers across all channels is rarely collaborative, resulting in a typically combative approach on both sides. The retailer advocates for the shopper by negotiating lower prices, higher quality and better services from suppliers, which primarily want to make the consumer loyal to their brands. In successful
Pharmacies will experience significant shifts in the way they operate during the remainder of the calendar year — and well into 2021. From the ongoing transition to value-based care to the explosion of COVID-19, pharmacy executives will monitor the industry trends and changes and respond accordingly to optimize patient care. High-quality care provision — enabled
As I write this column, I’m working at home, social distancing from others not in my immediate family, yet keeping close to my coworkers and community through a blend of online video and other communications. As COVID-19 continues to spread across the United States, I wonder when we will return to “normal” — or even
In the large conference room at our headquarters in Westport, Conn., there is an erasable whiteboard that gets an awful lot of use capturing ideas for companies across a spectrum of industries. While those ideas get written, used and erased frequently, there is always a quote at the top of the board that tends to
U.S. brick-and-mortar retail is in crisis. This sentiment has been expressed to varying degrees in recent years as store closures and bankruptcies have piled up, but the current threat is much more immediate and pressing: The coronavirus outbreak has closed much of U.S. brick-and-mortar retail, and almost half the country has been told to stay
The new global reality after COVID-19 will be the lasting memory of everything shutting down except retail. The role of retail will never be the same, as shoppers are becoming dependent on it both as a trusted resource and as an adviser for all aspects of their lives. North American retailers such as Costco, Walmart
For the last 50 years, share of stomach, or food spending, in the U.S. has been steadily shifting from eating at home to eating in restaurants. During the 1960s, less than 30% of domestic food dollars were spent away from home but, now, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the proportion of the family
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has affected our personal lives, businesses, schools, health care systems, government and shopping behaviors. As retailers and manufacturers on the front line, we face real, daily challenges. How do we get more hand sanitizer into the stores? Should we pivot our manufacturing to produce toilet paper and cleaning products? How do
By Dwight deVera All pharmacy professionals believe one prescription error is one too many. Increasingly, the practice of pharmacy is focused away from the primary functions of filling prescriptions and counseling patients. The reality is that ancillary, but still consequential, activities are consuming valuable time and resources during a retail pharmacist’s day. These activities include
When I first set out to write this, the U.S. was a very different place. We are now at a moment that calls to mind the opening lines of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it
