CVS
Retail Clinics Shift Care Delivery Assumptions
The MinuteClinic that opened up across town may be too small and specialized to pose a direct threat to your facility. Still, taken as a whole, the retail clinic sector has probably had more of an... Read more...
ALSO NOTED: CVS, Caremark talk merger; WellPoint launches Medicare MSA; and much more...
> Drugstore chain CVS and pharmacy benefit manager Caremark Rx have confirmed that they're officially in merger talks. Release
> WellPoint has introduced what it says is the nation's first Medicare-related Medical Savings Account. Release
> …
... Read more...Grocery chain adds retail clinics
Grocery chain Winn-Dixie Stores has become the latest entrant in the retail clinic sweepstakes. The company, which operates 521 stores in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, and Mississippi, is partnering with Birmingham, AL-based Wellspot Medical Clinics. Winn-Dixie will begin its program with three locations in Jacksonville, FL, and roll out clinics nationwide by the end of 2007. The partnership should significantly expand Wellspot's national footprint, as it only serves Alabama and …
... Read more...Editor's Corner
OK, maybe you're going to think I'm obsessed with Wal-Mart, but for a second time, it looks like retail giant deserves the spotlight. I …
Cheap generics could shift drug purchase patterns
The fallout from Wal-Mart's $4 generics campaign could be much more dramatic than we thought. A new study from the Wall Street Journal Online and survey firm Harris Interactive predicts that not only will Wal-Mart-style cheap generics attract customers to stores, they could potentially shift long-term U.S. prescribing and purchasing patterns. Dirt-cheap generics seem very …
... Read more...Wal-Mart expands$4 generics to 14 states
Tons of good PR, more high-margin pharmacy business and a truckload of new customers eyeing your rock-bottom prices on socks and light bulbs--what's not to like? Apparently happy with the progress of its $4 generic drug program in Florida, Wal-Mart is rolling the program out on a much larger scale, expanding it to 1,264 stores in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Vermont. Wal-Mart has …
... Read more...Wal-Mart expands $4 drug program, Target follows
Perhaps responding to the blizzard of industry and consumer PR, Wal-Mart has decided to expand its $4 generic prescription program from a small pilot in the Tampa Bay, FL area to the entire state of Florida right away, rather than waiting for January 2007 for the rollout. With the statewide rollout, Wal-Mart has expanded the list of $4 generics to include 314 drugs, including oncology drug Megestrol and cholesterol …
... Read more...Retail clinics already on the rocks?
In a recent post on industry blog Hospital Impact, Tony Chen argues, rather convincingly, that the buzz about the prospects for retail clinics may be overblown. While Chen--and I, for that matter--still believe that retail clinics have a healthy future, he notes that these clinics are running into some obstacles cheerleaders hadn't pointed out in the first round of enthusiasm.
For example, he notes that retail clinic operator Take Care is pulling out of Portland, OR, …
... Read more...Providers see future with retail clinics
Retail clinics--nurse practitioner-staffed medical centers that are less expensive than regular doctor visits--began popping up five years ago in such stores as CVS, Wal-Mart and Walgreens. Now traditional medical providers are taking notice of retail health clinics and even throwing their hats in the ring in order to protect themselves from competition. Some health systems have staffed their own clinics, signed contracts to oversee clinic staff or set up referral systems with the …
... Read more...Retail clinics: thousands on the way?
Tony Chen of the blog Hospital Impact has an interesting analysis of the CVS/MinuteClinic deal announced earlier this week. He quotes local papers that put the value of the transaction at $170... Read more...
