INSIGHTS AND PERSPECTIVES

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Consumers are working more, playing more, shopping more and learning more online than ever before. So the click-and-consult services proffered by Walgreens and Rite Aid not only represent today’s cutting edge technology, but also provide a peek into how consumers may interact with their healthcare team tomorrow.

(THE NEWS: Walgreens extends online pharmacy with Pharmacy Chat. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The evidence keeps piling up.

(THE NEWS: Pharmacist-patient relationships improve health, lower costs of care, UNC-Kerr study reveals. For the full story, click here)

Community pharmacy has demonstrated, over and over, and with remarkable consistency, that retail pharmacists bring real value to the healthcare system.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Parlaying a 73-year-old brand with a strong following into another synergistic category only can mean good things, especially as a significant amount of trial almost is a foregone conclusion.

(THE NEWS: Carmex enters skin care category. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The news that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia is developing tools to help members throughout the state easily access information on lower-cost emergency room alternatives -- like retail-based health clinics -- is just one more indicator that the physician shortage and soaring healthcare costs are taking a major toll on Americans.

(THE NEWS: Local Blue Cross Blue Shield offers ER alternatives to members. For the full story, click here)

Latinas tend to over-index on beauty products as, in their opinion, beauty means power and upward mobility, Mintel’s senior analyst of multicultural reports, Leylha Ahuile, said during a recent webinar. This is one reason why these 23.6 million beauty mavens are a sweet spot for brands.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT It’s been said many times that the people you know are as important as what you know. In the case of Billy Tauzin, former president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, this adage was especially true, considering his former career as a member of Congress.

(THE NEWS: PhRMA names new president, CEO. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Rounding out its Kerr Health management team, Kerr Drug has gone beyond its own deep bench of retail-oriented players.

(THE NEWS: Domann named Kerr Health's VP sales and business. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Just goes to show that you need to spend a dollar to make a dollar because that other overused adage, “a penny saved is a penny earned,” might only earn you a penny profit even as you miss that dollar opportunity. Throw these learnings against the wall of SKU rationalization, and what sticks is that the bunker mentality has to end; you can’t grow the market without the tried and true catalyst of a new growth engine powered by innovation.