WALGREENS

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.

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.

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.

Walgreens kicks off its new fiscal with a mixed set of results. Overall sales are strong, aided by the integration of 375 Rite Aid stores and a robust performance from the U.S. retail pharmacy division. This growth was sufficient to make up for the slightly disappointing numbers from the international group, where same-store sales fell by 0.7%. Meanwhile, impairments in investments and an equity loss from earnings in AmerisourceBergen helped pushed down net income by 23%.

As good as Walgreens performed behind the back bench this past quarter, the company’s continued focus on enhancing its beauty offerings is expected to lead improvements across the front-end as Walgreens plans to amalgamate the many store format pilots it has been testing into one of many yet-to-be-identified stores.

Rite Aid Wednesday evening outlined the number of tools the company has on hand in the delivery of low-cost, high-cost health and wellness services as it enters a new era featuring a tighter network of stores and a broad selection of diverse health services.

There may have been plenty of cough and cold products in the Christmas stockings of residents in the Lone Star State, as Texas markets continue to top the Walgreens Flu Index list for flu activity, the Deerfield, Ill.-based chain announced Wednesday morning. As many as nine of the top 10 markets exhibiting flu activity were in Texas, though flu incidence may be gaining traction across the nation as gains in flu activity were recorded from San Diego to Lafeyette, La.