WALGREENS

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Improving medication adherence may be the key to reducing hospital re-admission rates, according to a new issue brief by a health policy research organization.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens recently announced the appointment of Brad Fluegel as SVP and chief strategy officer. Fluegel will be responsible for corporate strategy, business development, project management and the corporate consulting team while also working on venture capital efforts. 

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — American Well, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Walgreens' Take Care Health Systems have collaborated to make telehealth services available to thousands of BCBSNC employees located throughout North Carolina. The service, called OnlineCareNC, allows BCBSNC employees from home or work to receive a healthcare consultation from credentialed Take Care Health System nurse practitioners, health coaches or nutritionists through two-way video, secure text chat or phone.

DENVER — Busy Breathers on Tuesday announced the availability of its portable oxygen backpacks on e-commerce sites Drugstore.com and Walgreens.com and in 75 Walgreens locations throughout Colorado.  

 DETROIT — The Detroit Lions and Walgreens on Friday entered into an agreement naming Walgreens as the Official Pharmacy of the Detroit Lions. Walgreens also will be named presenting sponsor of the team’s Living for the City Health & Wellness community initiative, bringing preventive healthcare resources and charitable programs to disadvantaged and at-risk families throughout metropolitan Detroit.

 DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens pharmacists are on the frontlines of a new transition of care program, WellTransitions, which brings hospitals and health systems together with Walgreens in a coordinated care model designed to reduce readmission rates and overall healthcare costs while improving patient health outcomes and medication adherence, Walgreens announced Tuesday. The WellTransitions program is being rolled out as thousands of hospitals nationwide face possible penalties from Medicare for patient readmission rates that are too high, under a new law that took effect Oct.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens will be offering free, personalized Part D plan comparison reports to help beneficiaries identify the plan that best meets their prescription drug needs, the retail pharmacy operator announced Monday. Plan reviews are available on a walk-in basis or by scheduling an appointment at Walgreens.com/medicare, Walgreens stated.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — The Retail Employees with Disabilities Initiative certainly is a noble cause, but more than that, this is a prime example of Walgreens' active pursuit of an experience with its audience through the mediums that that audience chooses — in this case, Twitter. It represents a new paradigm in marketing as drug retailers and others swap a consumer reach and brand identity proposition for one of engagement and presence.