To the skepticism of many, Walgreens last year made a big global splash with its two-step merger deal with Alliance Boots across the pond. But with the announcement that the co-joined Walgreens/Alliance Boots had signed a 10-year distribution deal with wholesaler AmerisourceBergen, that included an equity stake to boot, well, it seemed that many analysts on Wall Street finally got it.

This is going to be a big year for community pharmacy, said Thrifty White president and CEO Bob Narveson, as the nation reaches full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2014.

This month Walgreens announced that it would begin to offer chronic care services at its Take Care Clinics. Its biggest competitor, MinuteClinic, made a similar announcement about a year ago. With full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the people paying the bills are going to get a good look at what retail clinics can do to lower costs and improve outcomes.

DSN talked with Suzanne Hansen, Walgreens group VP pharmacy operations, about how Walgreens is shifting its pharmacy service model to a comprehensive health-savings offering.

There is perhaps no greater value in the OTC space than having a friendly face guide you to the health information you need — when you are physically in the store. That value will resonate even more with consumers once they realize that the guide is a dedicated position who is there to help them access health information at the shelf with the Drug Facts Label or through a Web-enabled tablet.

It's official. During its most recent quarterly conference call with analysts, CVS Caremark revealed what many had anticipated: Its acquisition of privately held Brazilian drug store chain Drogaria Onofre was complete.

Everybody's got questions. Walgreens has answers. With topics covering everything from cold and flu to women's health, Walgreens has coupled comprehensive health information into a pocket-size pamphlet packed with coupons.

Amazon.com created a virtual health and wellness depot with the launch of its new 50+ Active and Healthy Living Store.

Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy is among several Flint, Mich.-area companies that have signed on to a council to support a local business that makes scrubs and is interested in expanding beyond traditional markets.

A report released yesterday by the Bipartisan Policy Center, entitled “A Bipartisan Rx for Patient-Centered Care and System-Wide Cost Containment,” contains a smart, forward-looking and no-cost recommendation that could save the government billions, the Generic Pharmaceutical Association said.

A federal court ruling has allowed Actavis to relaunch a generic contraceptive drug, the company said.

Generic drug maker Hospira has appointed Matt Stober as its SVP operations, the company said.