Thomas O’Donnell is slated to join the National Association of Chain Drug Stores as vice president of federal government affairs. NACDS said Thursday that O’Donnell will start in the post on July 9 and will report to Carol Kelly, senior vice president of government affairs and public policy.
Walmart is piloting a talking prescription system that gives vision-impaired people who can’t read standard print an easy way to access the information on their medications.
Comparable-store sales at Rite Aid Corp. edged up in May but grew more slowly than in recent months. Rite Aid said Thursday that for the five weeks ended June 2, same-store sales increased 1.1% year over year, marking the drug chain’s smallest monthly gain so far this calendar year. Comp-store sales
The website of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), pharmacist.com, is back up after being shut down for the better part of a week because of an online attack. APhA said Wednesday that pharmacist.
Rite Aid Corp. has begun its annual healthy skin campaign in conjunction with The Skin Cancer Foundation. Running through July 31, the effort includes free informational skin care guides in Rite Aid drug stores and online at RiteAid.
SymphonyIRI Group Inc. has named Andrew Appel as president and chief executive officer.
Coinstar Inc. and Starbucks Corp. unit Seattle’s Best Coffee have partnered to roll out fresh-ground and brewed coffee kiosks in drug stores, supermarkets and mass merchant retail outlets. Drug stores are one of the planned retail locations for Coinstar’s Rubi coffee kiosk.
Walgreen Co. has appointed Alan London, M.D., as chief medical officer of Take Care Health Systems Consumer Solutions Group. Walgreens said Wednesday that London will lead Take Care Health’s efforts to build and maintain external doctor and health system relationships for Take Care Clinics.
The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) has updated the blueprint for the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE), reorganizing the test’s content into nine knowledge areas. PTCB said Wednesday that changes to the exam stemmed from a job analysis completed in February.
SoloHealth has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its SoloHealth Station, an interactive, health and wellness screening kiosk for consumers. Thousands of SoloHealth Stations are expected to be in retail pharmacies by the end of the year.
Navarro Discount Pharmacy has opened a liquor store operation adjacent to one of its drug stores in the Miami Beach area. The new liquor outlet is situated near a Navarro drug store in Sunny Isles, Fla.
Dean Sorrentino has joined diabetes management product maker Nipro Diagnostics Inc. as chief financial officer.
Carex Health Brands has acquired Uplift Technologies, a Canadian maker of lifting seat and light therapy home care products. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.
Same-store sales for Walgreen Co. were down in May, though less than in the previous month, as the company’s contract dispute with pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Inc. continued to impact its prescription business by double-digits.
Peter Duran has joined the retail pharmacy alliance RxAlly as vice president and chief privacy officer.
Michael Murray, formerly the head of e-commerce marketing at Sears Holdings Corp., has joined Catalina Marketing Corp. as chief product officer, a newly created position.
