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Opinion

CVS Caremark aims to heighten impact on Rx

When Larry Merlo became chief executive officer of CVS Caremark Corp. last month he made it clear that his top priority is to realize the full potential of the integrated pharmacy care model that has decisively shaped the evolution of the company in recent years.

Retail/PBM Rx model still holds promise

Walgreens’ decision to sell its pharmacy benefits management business to Catalyst Health Solutions for $525 million is sure to intensify the debate about whether drug chains are well served by owning and operating such entities. For Walgreens, at least, the answer is clearly no.

New kind of chairman coming to NACDS

Come April, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores will put in place the first chairman in its 78-year history who has not come from the chain drug store industry. The NACDS chairman-in-waiting is Bob Loeffler. He is primarily a food retailer, having spent his retailing career with H.E.

Small chains stand out at CDMA Expo

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.

Some things to watch for as the year unfolds

or not — to happen in the chain drug retailing arena in 2011. • The National Association of Chain Drug Stores will finally begin to address some of the issues that have kept the organization from realizing its potential to fully dominate the retail trade association arena. As a

All firms need to prepare for health care reform

It is widely recognized that the health care reform legislation enacted last year will have a profound effect on patients and providers. Less apparent is the impact the Affordable Care Act will have on employers and the people who work for them.

Once again, Walmart impacts health care

New evidence of Walmart’s ability to influence the development of the health care market emerged last month when UnitedHealthcare and its Prescription Solutions division teamed up with Kroger Co. and Safeway Inc.

Cohen recalls Duane Reade’s emergence

in late 1959 to be precise — Eli Cohen, a 33-year-old entrepreneur with a retailing background that leaned heavily to apparel, opened a 500-foot “cut-rate” store on Broadway, between Duane and Reade streets, in Manhattan. The store mainly sold health and beauty aids, and its appeal, at a time when

Election results create uncertainty for Rx

The Republican tidal wave that swept through the nation’s political landscape earlier this month altered the balance of power in Washington and many state capitols and, in the process, created a greater degree of uncertainty for retail pharmacy operators.