RITE AID

Rite Aid on Thursday announced the appointment of Yong Choe as VP federal affairs and public policy. Choe previously served as director of business outreach and member services for the Republican Study Committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, and worked in various roles in the government affairs division of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores between 2003 and 2010. In his new position, he will report to EVP pharmacy Robert Thompson.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A standards-development organization for the pharmacy services industry has updated a white paper on protecting consumers and patients from accidental overdoses of the painkiller acetaminophen.

The NCPDP announced the updated white paper, "NCPDP Recommendations for Improved Prescription Container Labels for Medicines Containing Acetaminophen Version 1.1."

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid reported a 0.3% increase in comps for the month of January, the retail pharmacy chain said Thursday.

The increase included a 4.2% increase in front-end comps, 2.4% of which came from sales of OTC flu products. Pharmacy comps decreased by 1.4%, while same-store prescription count increased 5%, 3.4% of which came from flu-related prescriptions and flu shots. Total store sales for the four-week period, which ended Saturday, decreased 0.5% to $1.91 billion.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid is promoting heart health to mark American Heart Month in February.

The retail pharmacy chain announced Wednesday that it would distribute 12-page Heart Health guides and offer counseling with pharmacists and collect money for the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women movement by selling red dress paper pinups.

ADA, Ohio — Students at an Ohio pharmacy school are taking part in a nationwide effort to boost medication adherence.

Ohio Northern University announced that the school's chapter of the American Pharmacists Association — Academy of Student Pharmacists — had scheduled several events as part of the Medication Adherence Challenge, sponsored by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid has raised nearly $600,000 for a United Way chapter in Pennsylvania, the retail pharmacy chain said.

The company announced that employees in its corporate offices around the greater Harrisburg, Pa., area had raised $590,159 during its fundraising campaign for United Way of the Capital Region, for a total of nearly $5.8 million since 2002. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital, is near the company's headquarters in Camp Hill, Pa.

PHILADELPHIA — Five pharmacies dominated prescription drug dispensing revenues in the United States last year, according to a new study.

The proprietary study, by the Drug Channels Institute, found that pharmacy retailers CVS Caremark, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Walmart and pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts accounted for 63% of all prescription drug revenues in the $276.5 billion U.S. pharmacy industry in 2012.

Costco announced in its January 2013 magazine that it would begin offering pharmacy benefit management services, targeting small businesses and highlighting a 200-employee company based in Washington state.