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Retail News Breaks Archives Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. is expanding its roster of exclusive beauty care brands with the rollout of essence, a Germany-based value cosmetics brand. Rite Aid Corp. plans to deploy a cloud-based workforce management system that will be used at all of its nearly 4,700 drug stores. Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. is donating $250,000 to support The Blueprint for Pharmacy Implementation Strategy, a long-term initiative to evolve pharmacy practice with the changing health care needs of Canadians. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published a fourth round of draft federal upper limits (FULs) for Medicaid generic drug reimbursement, but the proposed levels still fall short for community pharmacies, according to the National Community Pharmacists Association. Pointing to a rise in whooping cough cases, MinuteClinic announced that DTap and Tdap vaccinations are available daily at more than 600 walk-in health clinics nationwide. With Super Bowl Sunday coming up soon, Rite Aid Corp. is launching a new promotion that highlights the chain as a convenient, year-round destination for commonly purchased food and beverage items. Current Walgreen Co. executives Wade Miquelon and Kermit Crawford and former chief executive officer Jeffrey Rein have joined the boards of health care service providers. The Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund (PEBTF) has awarded CVS Caremark Corp. a three-year contract to provide prescription drug benefits to Pennsylvania state employees. LowestMed, a provider of discount drug programs, has launched what it calls the industry's first mobile application that enables consumers to view and compare prescription drug prices at local retail pharmacies on a smartphone. As part of an effort to revamp its Medicaid program, the state of New York this year plans to evaluate average acquisition cost (AAC) as a benchmark for pharmacy reimbursement. Kinney Drugs has hired Jennifer Whalen as director of marketing and Steve Harris as inventory and replenishment manager, a newly created position. A North Carolina congressman drew praise for urging a House subcommittee to hold a hearing to review the planned merger of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) Express Scripts Inc. and Medco Health Solutions Inc. The National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) made key strides during 2011 in the areas of prescription labeling, electronic prior authorizations, medication therapy management and electronic prescribing.
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