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WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The idyllic Palm Beach setting is splendid. The weather usually is sunny and sublime. And the service, food and amenities served up by The Breakers nearly always are flawless.

(THE NEWS: Time to assert pharmacy’s role, new NACDS chairman urges. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Duane Reade’s sale to Walgreens means a lot of things, but one thing that won’t happen is that it will lose the unique identity that the chain has carved out in its hometown of New York, which allowed it to set itself apart from other retail pharmacies in the area. And in the process, Duane Reade is helping to redefine what a retail pharmacy can do and be.

(THE NEWS: Duane Reade teams up with JagTag. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT This is a fine example of how pharmacists can be both convenient and accessible and ready to answer questions about disease states and medicines, and all at the click of a mouse, or smartphone touch pad, as the case may be.

(THE NEWS: Rite Aid enters partnership with American Well. For the full story, click here)

CINCINNATI Kroger views its in-store health clinic business, The Little Clinic, as an important part of its commitment to health and wellness, and is in the midst of developing an expansion plan, according to a local report.

"It is part of our long-term plan," Kroger spokeswoman Meghan Glynn was quoted as saying in a Cincinnati Enquirer article. "Customers more and more are focused on health, fitness and wellness, especially with rising healthcare costs."

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Walgreens. YMCA. UnitedHealth Group. Two nationally known yet locally focused and health-interested organizations are partnering on a health initiative with a third organization, which marks the first time a health plan will play for evidence-based diabetes prevention and control programs. That future heralded so many years ago by the Asheville Project may finally have arrived.