One thing that was pretty clear in the research we conducted for the 2011 Retail Clinician Reader Survey is that an increasing number of retail-based health practitioners want the clinics they work for to expand the scope of services beyond acute care.

While Walgreens is not alone in its pledge to serve up food oasis stores across urban deserts peppered by supersize-me fast food joints and convenience stores, the Chicago-based chain certainly has made the greatest commitment. In addition, Walgreens is serving up some pretty extensive access to health care along with their focus on “fresh.”

Take Care Health Systems, which is owned by Walgreens, has revamped its website to now provide patients with online access to estimated clinic wait times, clinical quality scores and cost of services at Take Care Clinics across the country.

Walgreens on Wednesday directly appealed to benefit consultants with a letter apprising them of the chain’s withdrawal from Express Scripts’ pharmacy provider network, effective Jan. 1, 2012, and educating those consultants of the healthcare value that Walgreens still can deliver without Express Scripts.

A new report published in the June issue of the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety found that diabetes patients can benefit from multipayer patient-centered medical homes.

There are few certainties in life — death, taxes and the fact that you can get one heck of a healthcare bargain at your local pharmacy counter. And thanks in no small part to the industry associations advocating for pharmacy — including the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the National Community Pharmacists Association and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association — the lawmakers on the Hill are finally “getting it.”

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, on Monday announced that it has begun shipping its 2011-2012 Fluzone influenza virus vaccine in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Defense has issued a final rule that, effective Aug. 12, expands the scope of retail pharmacy-provided vaccination services in the TRICARE military healthcare program for the nation’s military, retirees and their families.

Hamacher Resource Group, a retail consumer healthcare marketing and research firm, will be presenting at Cardinal Health’s 2011 Retail Business Conference July 20 to 23 in Las Vegas.

McKesson earlier this month named its 2011 Pharmacy of the Year awards at the wholesaler’s annual McKesson ideaShare Conference.

Market research company Kline recently announced a series of complimentary webinars in the coming weeks around the personal care, home care and healthcare industries.