Special Reports Archive

Between its recently announced partnership with IMA North America and its Pharmacy Operations Symposium, held in April in concert with Binghamton University’s Watson Institute for Systems Excellence (WISE) — Innovation has had a busy year. And according to EVP global business development Doyle Jensen, there are numerous new projects that are ongoing at Innovation, as the company is expanding its solutions to help increase pharmacy efficiency, accuracy and inventory management.

Consumers with diabetes spend 35% more on OTC products than the average consumer, noted Jeff Gregori, group VP consumer and shopper analytics for Nielsen, during a recent presentation at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Total Store Expo. “That’s hands down more than any other ailment,” he said, and it’s because they face so many challenges beyond their initial diagnosis.

Johnson & Johnson’s president of health and wellness solutions Len Greer

The main focus for Johnson & Johnson’s health and wellness solutions president Len Greer is getting patients motivated to improve overall health outcomes. Aside from the company’s partnership with IBM Watson, Greer said Johnson & Johnson is undertaking efforts to apply behavioral science in such disease states as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease to improve patient health.

Quest Products is looking to break onto the external analgesic scene with CopperFixx, a balm that combines the analgesic properties associated with copper and arnica. “Copper has always been known to help relieve the aches and pains of certain afflictions,” said Don Ryan, president and CEO of Quest Products. “Until now, no one had figured out how to produce it in a consumer-friendly form.”

Kimberly-Clark’s Liz Metz (center)

The first step to making an impact in a customer’s life, according to Kimberly-Clark’s senior director of shopper engagement Liz Metz, is understanding what they want from their shopping experience.

As critics of the Affordable Care Act continue to grumble about how the law has adversely affected much of the nation’s healthcare system, consultant and Foundation for Health Smart Consumers fellow Mike Tarino said that giving people more control over how their healthcare dollars are spent could help quiet the critics and put what many see as a failing reform plan back on track.

As pharmacies fill more prescriptions, while also needing to provide specialty clinical services, pharmacy technology company ScriptPro is positioning itself as a provider of solutions that will ease common pain points that come with increased script volume and the influx of paperwork from clinical services. ScriptPro’s CEO Mike Coughlin shared two forthcoming innovations from the company with Drug Store News, one of which addresses pharmacy documentation needs, and the other of which will help with pain points in the will-call process.