INSIGHTS AND PERSPECTIVES

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT This has been a busy month or so for CVS Caremark. Last week it was a party on Beale Street as the chain announced its entry into Memphis, Tenn.; this week it broke out the pina coladas and celebrated its entry into Puerto Rico. Last month, it was Budweiser in St. Louis.

(THE NEWS: CVS/pharmacy joins Twitter. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT It matters most what big healthcare payers think of pharmacy and its role in health care. Perdue Farms has 22,000 employees, and operates more than 15 employee health-and-wellness centers. And chief medical officer Roger Merrill believes in pharmacists. He says they know more about drugs than he does.

(THE NEWS: NACDS names Roger Merrill 'Pharmacy Great Communicator.' For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Not even the threat of an H1N1 flu pandemic could shake today’s recession-minded employee from losing any hours for something like a cold or flu. And not even the Department of Health, which consistently advised sick people to stay home, could change that. Not this year.

(THE NEWS: New survey sheds light on cough-cold medicine purchases. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT It has been coined "The Oprah Effect" and it is the notion that if you're lucky enough to get a thumbs up by Oprah on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," her viewers will heed her call and run -- not walk -- to buy your product or services. Walgreens and its Take Care Clinic business are among the latest to be graced with the icon's million-dollar touch.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The news that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida is wading into the retail landscape with the opening of its fourth retail location in Florida is yet one more indication of the important role that convenient care clinics play in today's U.S. healthcare system.

(THE NEWS: Report: BCBS of Florida gets personal. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Relative to the national chains, independent pharmacies have limited resources and, given the importance and benefit of e-prescribing, further helping to facilitate the adoption of e-prescribing via grants — not to mention facilitating two-way communication between prescribers and pharmacists — is critical to help push overall adoption closer to the finish line.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Was the massive effort by the White House and congressional Democrats to overhaul the nation’s expensive and confusing healthcare system nothing more than a wasted, year-long effort?

(THE NEWS: NCPA responds to President Obama's State of the Union Address. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT One of the chain pharmacy industry’s top advocates is pushing hard to thaw the frozen, century-old public perception of community pharmacists as little more than pill dispensers. And she’s getting a receptive hearing about pharmacy’s critical role among business and healthcare leaders, consumer advocates and the mainstream media.