WALGREENS

CHICAGO — Six students in Chicago Public Schools' high schools last week were awarded more than $14,000 for their participation in a peer-to-peer learning program, sponsored by Walgreens, called the Expressions Challenge.

Student participants submitted art, video/photography or essay/poetry entries on educational disciplines, including art, English and health.
   

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Medication adherence is as high or slightly better among patients filling 90-day prescriptions at retail versus mail order, according to a new Walgreens study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Managed Care that the chain highlighted Thursday.

According to the study, adherence levels for 90-day at retail were 77%, while at mail-order adherence levels were 76%.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Wednesday again made its case for keeping its more than 8,000 points of care in the Express Scripts pharmacy network: Excluding Walgreens will not afford Express Scripts' customers any cost savings. Besides, if Walgreens does wind up out of the Express Scripts network at the top of the new year, many of those health plans and employers will start looking for ways to get Walgreens back in network, most likely by switching pharmacy benefit managers at their first opportunity.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — As Walgreens girds itself for life outside of the Express Scripts pharmacy network, company executives, over the course of a Wednesday morning first-quarter conference call, continued to maintain that they, along with healthcare payers and employers, will be better off for it.

NEW YORK — At its annual Analyst Day in New York on Tuesday, CVS Caremark executives outlined strong growth for 2012 and unveiled several new offerings and initiatives that are expected to help drive profitable long-term growth as it works to reinvent pharmacy and focus on its “integration sweet spots.”

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Federal Credit Union on Friday announced an agreement with Welch ATM to allow its members surcharge-free usage of cash-dispensing ATMs in more than 500 Walgreens locations across California. Under the agreement, the ATMs will carry the credit union's brand at selected locations throughout San Francisco.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Friday announced that its stores will be open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Through Dec. 23, most Walgreens locations will be open until midnight, the company stated. On Christmas Eve, nearly all stores will be open regular hours — pharmacies will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. — and on Christmas Day, non-24 hour stores will be open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. while all 24-hour stores and pharmacies will continue to remain open around the clock.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Diabetes Association on Thursday announced that Walgreens will become a national strategic partner, and that the national drug store chain again is working with the association as one of its partner charities within "Walgreens Way to Well Commitment" — a four-year, $100 million health-and-wellness initiative.