Retail Clinics

BOISE, Idaho — An Albertsons pharmacy technician has become the first in the nation to administer an immunization to a patient. The new ability for the technician is the product of new law in Idaho brought about by a partnership between Albertsons and Washington State University College of Pharmacy, who worked together to develop the first pilot program to train pharmacy technicians to provide immunizations with permission from the Idaho board of pharmacy.

ATLANTA — A new study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this month in Pediatrics is the first of its kind to show that flu vaccination significantly reduced a child’s risk of dying from influenza. The study, which looked at data from four flu seasons between 2010 and 2014, found that flu vaccination reduced the risk of flu-associated death by half (51%) among children with underlying high-risk medical conditions and by nearly two-thirds (65%) among healthy children.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Beginning April 25, Walgreens Healthcare Clinic locations in 18 markets will offer testing services for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, Hepatitis B and C, chlamydia and gonorrhea.

WALTHAM, Mass. – Alere on Tuesday announced that its Alere Reader, a diagnostic analyzer that can be used in both point-of-care and laboratory settings, has received 510(k) marketing clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

ROCKVILLE, Md. — U.S. Urgent Care Centers are “now an established segment of the U.S. healthcare industry,” reaching a $15 billion market in 2016, according to new research released by Kalorama Information.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday allowed 23andMe to market its Personal Genome Service Genetic Health Risk tests for 10 diseases or conditions directly to consumers. The allowance makes 23andMe’s GHR the first direct-to-consumer test authorized that provides information about a patient’s genetic predisposition to diseases or medical conditions.

WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Pharmacists Association have developed an online training tool on older adult fall prevention. 

Called STEADI: The Pharmacist’s Role in Older Adult Fall Prevention, the free online training — based on the CDC’s Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths and Injuries initiative and accredited by the ACPE — was launched March 24 at the APhA Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Francisco.