Extended Coverage Article

2010

Guest Column: Harnessing the communication power of the pharmacy

Over-the-counter and health-and-beauty care marketers have been struggling to find ways to harness the communication power of pharmacy to help them build their brand equity. The path to achieve this goal has been for consumer packaged goods companies to develop pharmacy programs designed to educate and capture the attention of pharmacists so that pharmacists may communicate and educate their patients about their products at the point of decision-making.
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CVS Caremark gets aggressive with PBM

If you ask Tom Ryan, it’s more about the offer and the outcomes than it is about the price that is driving its pharmacy benefit management business these days. And that has the CVS Caremark chairman, president and CEO optimistic about the 2011 selling season.
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Q&A: Boosting beauty — Mary van Praag, Coty Beauty

While the economy has presented many retailers with a handful of challenges, it also has given rise to several opportunities as consumers shift their shopping behavior and opt for cheaper, at-home beauty regimens. Mary van Praag, SVP sales for Coty Beauty, talked with Drug Store News about Coty’s initiatives and how it is helping retailers bolster beauty at mass.
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CVS proves pharmacists impact diabetes outcomes

Serving as yet one more indicator of the vital role that pharmacists play in the U.S. healthcare system is a program implemented by CVS Caremark and Polk County, Fla., that clearly illustrates how clinical pharmacist interventions can improve diabetes outcomes for patients.
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Dollar store stimulus plan

While Sunday morning news pundits debate the effectiveness of the economic stimulus package Congress and the Obama administration set in motion about a year ago, there can be little debate that the growth in the dollar channel is creating a bit of a stimulus package of its own. Sales are up, in sharp contrast to most other sectors of retail. And, while the state of the economy has caused many retailers to shutter some stores, or otherwise froze capital expenditures for many others, dramatically reducing expansion plans, dollar chains are adding stores — and jobs along with that.
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Healthy options hit snack shelves

Remember when snacks meant just chips or pretzels, and tortilla chips seemed a little exotic? Now when consumers want to snack, they have a plethora of choices ranging from rice cakes to freeze-dried fruit. Increasingly, those snacking options are better-for-you products.
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Rx new player in gaming arena

The popularity of gaming has grown, and the appeal of video games has broadened to new customer bases with such products as “Guitar Hero” and “Wii Fit.”
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People in the News

Dave Van Howe is joining Market Performance Group, a strategy consulting and sales representation firm, as SVP and retail adviser, working on go-to-market initiatives with suppliers and retailers. Van Howe most recently served as VP purchasing and new business development for Walgreens.
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Q&A: Making a splash — Hollis Brookover, Morningside Products

Hollis Brookover, founder and CEO of Morningside Products, the makers of bath-and-body products under the Originals and Simple Originals brand names, talks with Drug Store News about the company and the bath-and-body segment at mass. Morningside is a certified women-owned business enterprise headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
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Q&A: Social engagement — Judy Blatman, Council for Responsible Nutrition

With all of the emphasis around social media these days, Drug Store News caught up with mainstream supplement association Council for Responsible Nutrition to discuss how and why they’ve recently branched their Life … Supplemented health awareness campaign into such venues as Twitter (twitter.com/wannaBwell) and Facebook (Life … Supplemented). Discussing these initiatives is CRN’s SVP communications Judy Blatman.
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FTC pushes to end patent settlements, vexing branded, generic drug industry

On a lot of issues, the branded and generic drug industries agree about as readily as bacteria and antibiotics, but they have united on one issue: patent settlements.
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Q&A: Growing e-Rx Harry Totonis, Surescripts president and CEO

Surescripts, the electronic prescribing company founded in 2001 by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association, will hit the ground running in 2010. Buoyed by the accelerating growth of e-prescribing and health information technology — and by its own increasing ability to exploit economies of scale — the company begins the year with a significant price reduction and plans to expand applications for pharmacies and their patients.
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Push for reform to continue at NACDS

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores promotes community pharmacy as “the face of neighborhood health care.” In 2010, federal and state policy-makers and ordinary Americans will know that face even better, said NACDS president and CEO Steve Anderson.
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CVS Caremark taps Lofberg to head PBM business

As anticipated, CVS Caremark has named a new president for its PBM business. The company’s selection of Per G.H. Lofberg further illustrates CVS Caremark’s growing commitment to the field of personalized medicine and its importance to the industry.
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Q&A: Information as empowerment — Chris Dimos, president of pharmacy, Supervalu

Chris Dimos, president of pharmacy at Supervalu, shared with Drug Store News some of the vision behind Supervalu’s health and wellness initiatives.
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Q&A: Supporting wellness — Tom Finnegan, Homedics

Drug Store News spoke with Tom Finnegan, VP sales, diagnostics and healthcare for Homedics, about how the company’s newly acquired line of Obus Forme backrest support products can help drug retailers position themselves as a wellness destination for customers.
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Drug presents opportunity to help office sector out of bind

A new year could be an opportunity for home-office product sales as consumers turn their attention to organizing and preparing for tax season.
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