WALGREENS

The news that Walgreens has reached an agreement with Caterpillar to help the company curb healthcare costs for its 70,000 employees, retirees and eligible dependents is one more indicator that the private sector cannot wait for healthcare reform and that pharmacy retailers are taking a greater role on the front lines of health care.

As explained in the article, Walgreens, through its Pharmacy Management Excellence program, will make transparent the prescription drug-pricing model, in turn, eliminating unnecessary and hidden costs for Caterpillar.

As further proof that probiotics is continuing on its upward trend, Walgreens is fielding a private label probiotic multivitamin. What makes this interesting is that most probiotics on the shelf today are just that, probiotics. Fielding a probiotic multivitamin is more of a natural food position, and should create a strong point-of-differentiation for Walgreens.

NEW YORK Here’s a look at how the future of pharmacy is going to work ...

NEW YORK Making sure that medication therapy management is a part of any new healthcare reform legislation is a major priority for this industry, but it may be even more critical to the U.S. healthcare system.