WASHINGTON — Congress and the courts, like the American public, remain divided on the health care reform law. Although the Republican-controlled House voted to overturn the measure, Democrats have ruled out the possibility of a repeal vote in the Senate. President Obama has asked legislators to “fix what needs fixing and move forward” rather than
BELLEVUE, Wash. — Drugstore.com is looking to turn its Facebook fans into shoppers. Late last month drugstore.com and sister site Beauty.com launched a virtual store on the popular social media portal. According to social commerce solution provider Adgregate Markets, whose secure ShopFans technology powers the store, drugstore.com is the first major health and beauty care
MIAMI — Navarro Discount Pharmacy plans to add as many as 20 stores over the next three years as the drug chain expands beyond Florida’s Miami-Dade County. The strategy includes five new drug stores this year, seven new outlets in 2011 and eight new units in 2013. This year, the first new store will be
GOUVERNEUR, N.Y. — Kinney Drugs has scheduled medicine collection days this month and in March. The events, which are slated for the last Saturday of each month, will collect unused or expired noncontrolled prescription medications, ensuring their proper disposal and preventing accidental poisonings, substance abuse and environmental pollution. Only noncontrolled prescriptions are accepted, along with
CAMP HILL, Pa. — Members of Rite Aid Corp.’s wellness+ program can earn a “$20 +UP Reward” and be automatically entered into a sweepstakes featuring over $100,000 in prizes as part of the retailer’s Winter Rewards program. Customers can earn the reward — which prints at the bottom of a register receipt and is redeemable
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has launched NACDS Mobile, a mobile web site that serves as a “guide on the go” to the organization’s meetings, advocacy and public relations. The site, http://m.NACDS.org, is designed for ease of use on any smartphone with a web browser. Features of NACDS Mobile include
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreen Co. has promoted several executives and created a new position in its upper management ranks. Among those promoted was senior vice president of e-commerce Sona Chawla, who has been elevated to president of e-commerce. “Under Sona’s visionary leadership we have made extraordinary progress in our online, mobile and e-commerce capabilities,” president
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — With a growing number of the industry’s largest drug chains putting more emphasis on food, last month’s announcement by Walmart that it will reduce salt and sugar in its processed products in the next five years and lower the price of its fruit and vegetables is likely to be a game changer.
BOULDER, Colo. — Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy has become this city’s only pharmacy using solar power. The drug store chain installed 20 panels on the awning of its downtown store at 1647 Pearl St. in Boulder, Colo. The panels were installed by Boulder-based Independent Power Systems (IPS) and will generate around 5,400 kilowatt hours (kWh) per
Overlooked amid the cacophony of meetings planned, meetings scheduled, meetings held and meetings evaluated was a relatively quiet event late last month in Orlando, Fla. The meeting in question was the annual trade expo hosted by the Chain Drug Marketing Association. In its unassuming way, it was arguably the most impressive event in which a
Business executives don’t like uncertainty, but it’s a condition retail pharmacy operators and others involved in health care delivery will have to learn to live with for the foreseeable future. In addition to the tenuous economic recovery, recent developments that call into question the progress of health care reform will greatly complicate the task of
NEW YORK — Accompanying the sweeping changes augured by health care reform are ongoing changes from advances in technology, which are opening doors for the retail pharmacy sector with new solutions. With implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as well as other factors reshaping the U.S. health care system, a variety of
LAS VEGAS — Smartphones and other digital technologies have a role to play in making drug therapies and other health care services more effective, chain drug retailers say. Walgreen Co. has developed mobile applications for iPhone, Android and Blackberry devices, the company’s chief medical officer, Dr. Cheryl Pegus, pointed out at the recent Consumer Electronics
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark Corp. agreed late last month to acquire the Medicare Part D business of Universal American Corp. However, some say the pending $1.25 billion deal for the Rye Brook, N.Y.-based company could open CVS up to further charges of engaging in anticompetitive practices. The deal that was announced on December 31
