WALGREENS

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens and the Chicago Health System on Tuesday reminded CHS patients who were given a flu shot voucher from Walgreens to redeem the voucher by the end of the month and help increase flu vaccination rates throughout the Chicagoland area. Through this program, the health system distributed approximately 25,000 vouchers in January to CHS patients who had not received the vaccination.

ATLANTA — Walgreens on Tuesday partnered with the online platform Sharecare on the launch of a new "Answers" application, which provides access to a comprehensive and searchable drug, supplement and wellness database on Facebook.

The application, which is integrated into Walgreens' Facebook page, gives Walgreens nearly 2 million followers convenient access to an interactive portal containing health information and resources.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — There is power in information. There is even more power in that information when it is conveniently available at the precise moment it is needed — in this case, during one of a patient's increasingly time-crunched appointments with a general healthcare practitioner. Today more than half (52%) of all office-based doctors are using that Surescripts network to streamline and help manage the prescriptions they write, which is connecting them to 94% of all retail pharmacies.

NEW YORK — Walgreens might be willing to acquire Rite Aid if it can't settle an ongoing contractual dispute with one of the country's largest pharmacy benefit managers, Walgreens' former CEO said in a conference call with investors Monday.

Interviewed by Credit Suisse analyst Edward Kelly, former Walgreens CEO Jeff Rein suggested that Walgreens' board "would have the stomach" to buy Rite Aid if it doesn't reach an agreement with Express Scripts, as buying Rite Aid's nearly 4,700 stores would give Walgreens considerable leverage against the PBM.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — A miniature version of the spike in stock market activity that followed speculation about the prospects of a Walgreens-Rite Aid merger happened on Drug Store News' website as a quick writeup about the potential deal became the most-read story on the site.

(THE NEWS: Reports: WAG-RAD merger speculation drives RAD stock to four-year high. For the full story, click here)

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — "American Idol" sensation Crystal Bowersox will deliver an acoustic performance at the second Walk with Walgreens Family Fun Day and Health Fair, to be held March 24, the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation announced Friday.

WASHINGTON — Many Walgreens customers are "flocking" to independent pharmacies amid the dispute between the retail pharmacy chain and pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts, a trade group representing the PBM industry said.

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association announced results of a survey conducted by North Star Opinion Research, touting the results as evidence of preferred pharmacy networks' benefits to independent retail pharmacies and customers.

NEW YORK — A takeover by Walgreens is "highly unlikely," but Rite Aid shares could stay past the $2 mark due to the company's fundamentals, an analyst said Thursday.