Americans are finally ready for the pharmacist as an over-the-counter consumer health influencer. COVID-19 has increased the importance of having the retail pharmacist recommendation in consumer health shopper marketing. During COVID-19, health care professionals were inundated with questions around how best to handle symptoms and to verify what O-T-C products or vaccines were safe. When
I’d venture to guess that none of my fellow pharmacists has ever heard a customer happily pay a co-payment for a prescription drug. But many patients might yearn for a simple co-payment compared to what they often face more today: large co-insurance obligations and high deductibles. Over the past decade, insurance companies have increasingly changed
The retail pharmacy industry is in flux. In post-pandemic America, chain, independent and online pharmacies are all fighting for shares of an increasingly volatile market. The question remains whether retail drug chains can find the right balance of convenience, personal care, and value to inspire patients and customers, creating a foundation for lasting success. Many
Pharmaceutical traceability is here. Are you ready? As an industry we have been working for 10 years to improve the quality and safety of the drug supply chain with the promise that serialization will prevent illegitimate, counterfeit, substandard and unapproved drugs from reaching patients. However, industry reports show that readiness is a mixed bag across
Let’s first get this straight — retail media networks (RMNs) aren’t new. They have been around for several years. But, like other aspects of the digital advertising ecosystem, they reappeared as consumers disappeared into their homes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We first saw the potential of RMNs with Amazon’s success, which was quickly followed by
Sci-fi thrillers in the 1950s first introduced the phrase “Take me to your leader.” If extraterrestrials were to land in today’s U.S. drug chain universe, they would meet two leaders who only recently arrived on the scene and move fast. It might be hard to find them. Perhaps unimaginable a decade ago, the two major
Every for-profit business is in the business of serving customers. So, it stands to reason that we should all care about them and strive to serve them as well as we can. The better we are at meeting the needs of our customers, the more money they will spend with us and the less tempted
Only a short time ago, access to health care outside of traditional boundaries was fraught with regulatory, reimbursement, technological and other barriers, and patient/consumer trust and adoption were at low levels. Then the pandemic struck and turned health care delivery on its head. Once-formidable obstacles like reimbursement and HIPAA requirements were quickly addressed by regulators
Imagine you could walk into any drug store retailer and not only get your regular prescriptions refilled but access primary care, meet with experts that can coordinate your health care and get connected with the right doctors? Now imagine this retailer serves the whole family, so group health care plans are personalized and optimized for
DUBLIN, Ohio — Two-thirds of pharmacy owners are struggling to fill open staffing positions, according to a January report from the National Community Pharmacists Association. As a result, many pharmacies have been forced to reduce operating hours due to staff shortages or concerns about burning out existing staff. In a January statement on reduced pharmacy
By some estimates, retail has undergone more transformation in the last three years than in the previous 50 combined. And there is no end in sight, with social and macroeconomic trends from inflation; digital competition; supply chain issues; recession fears; environmental, social and governance (ESG) pressures; and a drive to further personalize the shopper experience
FORT WORTH — The vision care and ocular health industry is bustling with myriad fresh trends. Sean Clark, the general manager of U.S. Vision Care at Alcon, points to several notable developments that are emerging in the eye care category this year. Clark says that across the eye care category he is seeing the effects
FORT WORTH — The Agile Innovation series focuses on why organizations must constantly evolve and innovate with an agile mindset to remain viable in today’s dynamic world. This month, Trey Holder, accelerate360’s chief business officer and president of distribution and logistics, talks with Derek Gaskins, chief marketing officer of Yesway, a rapidly expanding chain of
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Jim Athey has big plans for L&R Distributors. He’s just taken over as chief executive officer following the transition of Marc Bodner to the title of executive chair, and he’s ready to take the company to the next level. Athey spoke with Chain Drug Review about his blueprint for growth, the issues
