WALGREENS

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Thursday announced $100,000 in additional donations to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. The company, which includes Duane Reade in New York and New Jersey, is making two $50,000 contributions, one to the Empire State Relief Fund announced by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and the other to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund established by Gov. Chris Christie.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens and the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care announced on Thursday that half of the primary care worksite health centers managed by Walgreens Employer Solutions Group have received Medical Home accreditation, with plans to have all of the company’s employer-based primary care centers accredited in the first half of 2013.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid beat analyst expectations in third quarter 2013 as the generic wave and retention of Express Scripts customers helped drive better-than-expected adjusted EBITDA and produced the company's first profitable quarter in five years.

"I am proud that we have achieved this significant milestone by putting our customers first and challenging ourselves to better serve them," Rite Aid president, chairman and CEO John Standley said in a conference call with Wall Street analysts Thursday morning.

NEW YORK — Predictions of a more active flu season are coming true as temperature differences have helped drive flu activity, a Citibank financial analyst wrote.

In a letter to investors, Citi Research analyst Deborah Weinswig wrote that influenza virus activity in the week ended Dec. 8 increased year over year for the ninth consecutive time this season and increased significantly compared with last week — up 28.3% compared with last week's 20.7%.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens will keep stores open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to allow last-minute Christmas shopping, the retail pharmacy chain said Wednesday.

This includes 1,600 24-hour locations that will be open around the clock, while most Walgreens stores will stay open until midnight through Dec. 23, and nearly all stores will be open during regular hours on Christmas Eve, including pharmacies, which will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. On Christmas, non-24-hour stores will be open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., and pharmacies will be open at 24-hour stores.

TORONTO — Customer service is the key driver of brand advocacy in retail pharmacy, according to a new study.

NEW YORK — What pharmacy lobbying groups and Drug Store News have been saying for a while has reached the mainstream.

The New York Times published an editorial over the weekend recommending that the country address its shortage of primary care doctors by relying more on other healthcare actors — such as pharmacists, nurse practitioners and patients themselves — as well as physician assistants and members of the community.

HAWAII — The Pacific Business News on Friday reported that a prominent real estate executive in the Hawaii region joined Walgreens from CVS Caremark. 

According to the report, Rock Tang, former regional director for real estate in Hawaii for CVS Caremark has been named senior real estate manager at Walgreens. Tang will be in charge of developing new stores around Hawaii and in Northern California. 

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