Disruptive changes in store for pharma sector
The nation’s health care system is in upheaval, with, to borrow a phrase from William Wordsworth, “the meagre, stale, forbidding ways of custom” under siege.
Opinion
CVS changes health care game at retail
In a year crammed with major news stories, cataclysmic personnel shifts and stunning new strategies and directions, the No. 1 retailing story of 2014 increasingly appears to be the CVS decision, announced early this year, to stop selling tobacco products in its 7,700 drug stores.
Business leaders gear up to drive change
October 1 is the first anniversary of the debut of the federal and state health care exchanges that allow Americans to assess insurance options and purchase coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Since then 7.3 million people have signed up, and another 4.
It’s time to build on Hatch-Waxman’s legacy
When President Ronald Reagan signed the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act 30 years ago, few could imagine how the law would transform the health care landscape.
Does a direct delivery model threaten Rx?
Are we seeing the first early “green shoots” of a new industry disruptor? Possibly. Big Pharma has started experimenting with direct-to-consumer models to fill prescriptions, effectively circumventing the retail pharmacy.
Sales hurt by lack of store-level excitement
In the aftermath of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores-sponsored Total Store Expo exhibit show and business conference, held in Boston late last month, one long-held view was fortified by both the retailer and supplier communities: Business at retail is in the doldrums.
New name reflects direction CVS is headed
The change in name of CVS Caremark to CVS Health marks the culmination of a transition almost a quarter century in the making. Just 25 years ago CVS was one of several regional drug chains with a strong presence in a relatively limited geographic area.
The ideal choice to run the CVS drug chain
It’s not that Mark Cosby, the departing president of the CVS drug chain, was not respected. After all, here was an executive with an extensive retailing background, most notably at Sears and Macy’s. The drawback was that Cosby was not a chain drug retailer.
Integrity of Rx supply chain strengthened
While the new regulations governing pharmacy compounding contained in the Drug Quality and Security Act, which received final congressional approval and was signed into law by President Obama last month, garnered most of the media attention, the bigger story is the provisions of the legislation givi
A fixed point disappears at Walgreens
he began working for the Deerfield, Ill.-based, 8,100-store drug chain in 1970, when Walgreens, then located on Peterson Avenue in northern Chicago, operated some 550 drug stores — Steve Lubin has accepted a retirement package, leaving the company he has been so large a part of for so
New coalition keeps focus on health care costs
Much has been written in this space about the lift the Affordable Care Act will provide for the retail pharmacy business.
Retailers, suppliers will benefit by giving data its due
Should companies consider data an asset? Recognizing the value of translating big data into something meaningful that informs product, marketing, customer service, distribution, sales, and operations decisions has been a hot topic this year.
Best regional drug chains capable of competing
The disappearance of Kerr Drug, one of America’s elite regional drug chains, has yet to be felt. But with Walgreens closing its acquisition of the 76-store, Raleigh, N.C.
Flawed ACA launch doesn’t change Rx’s mission
The halting performance of the federal health insurance exchange during its first weeks of operation dealt a harsh blow to everyone with a stake in the success of the Affordable Care Act.
Dramatic changes energize Walgreens
Not often does change disrupt the orderly nature of things in chain drug retailing to the degree that the recent personnel shifts at Walgreens have altered both the personnel roster at that drug chain and the priorities of the many constituencies with which the retailer interacts.
Pharmacy well-positioned to meet challenges in volatile climate
Recent events illustrate the high stakes involved in getting health care right.