Top Retailers

Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens will be introducing the first implementations of its new store format later this spring, or in early summer, executives said Monday night at the 36th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. The new format will mark the first major overhaul of the core Walgreens format since the finalization of its merger with Alliance Boots in December 2014.

Launching into more than 300 Walmart locations in January, the Boobie Bar origin story is reminiscent of the popular Airborne immune boosting supplements.

The retailer said it now expects 2017 will be the fourth consecutive year in which its digital sales grow more than 25%.

There is no shortage of hurdles when it comes to achieving patient-facing care. Here are some key challenges and how the industry is trying to address them.

Long wait times: The biggest reason for dissatisfaction with a pharmacy is long wait times, said Oscar Cateriano, director of dispensing U.S. Retail, at BD.

There’s no single magic bullet for enabling patient-facing care in community-based pharmacy, but there are proven strategies to make substantial progress.

Though CVS Health and Aetna have had a working relationship since 2010, and their pending merger had likely been in the works for some time, its timing, experts say, suggests that the merger is as much about staving off the looming threat from Amazon as it is about competing with top health insurers and retailers.

Pharmacists still are waiting for the handcuffs to come off. That’s the consensus of industry leaders who are frustrated with the challenges of getting reimbursements for a wider range of services these professionals can perform. It’s a topic at the center of enabling patient care in community-based pharmacy.

“We talk about pharmacists being able to practice at the top of their license,” said CVS Health executive vice president of retail pharmacy and supply chain Kevin Hourican.

Walgreens Boots Alliance is setting the pace on sustainability issues from health care and combatting climate change to promoting diversity and fostering inclusion as evidenced in its new 2017 Corporate Social Responsibility Report published Friday.