The retailization of health care, as it's called in the Aug. 27 issue of Drug Store News, could turn out to be one of the most significant developments in the history of retail and health care alike.

They say hindsight is 20/20. With the Supreme Court’s ruling on healthcare reform, the luxury of looking back shows that the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and allies took the right course to battle the pharmacy Medicaid cuts of the Deficit Reduction Act. What we learned should inspire pharmacy to remain tenacious in its continued advocacy on this issue and in confronting all other challenges.

As the Drug Store News Group and its partners at the Convenient Care Association played host to several hundred in-store based providers in Orlando, Fla., in late July for the fifth annual Retail Clinician Education Congress, several signs began to emerge that the retail clinic model had reached a critical tipping point.

The September 2012 issue of Consumer Reports revealed that the dietary supplement industry still has a tough road to hoe in distancing responsible players in the nutritional sector from those purveyors of illegally marketed drugs and other quackery products. 


Active Health Foods announced that it has reached an agreement with UNFI, a leading independent national distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods and related products — including nutritional supplements, personal care items and organic produce — in the United States.

Why is the news that CVS Caremark Charitable Trust has teamed up with the National Association of Community Health Centers important? $300 billion a year and an alarming rise in the number of Americans suffering from chronic diseases. That’s why.

A new study from Harvard School of Public Health found that expanding Medicaid to low-income adults led to improved health and reduced mortality. It is the first published study to look specifically at the effect of recent state Medicaid expansions on mortality among low-income adults.

CVS Caremark Charitable Trust has teamed up with the National Association of Community Health Centers through a $3 million multiyear partnership.

The maker of Splenda has introduced a new zero-calorie sweetener.

A consumer push for healthier snacks has led to an explosion of yogurt sales. Sales of yogurt have increased every year since 2006, according to Mintel.

Pharmacy retailers have a relationship with the healthcare-reform law more complicated than most individuals and businesses.

There is so much noise out there about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and what it means for America that at times I wish I could just stick a banana in my ear — actually, make that two bananas, one for each ear.