Personnel Updates
• Diplomat Pharmacy (20) has named David Skomo COO of CastiaRx, a division of Diplomat, following the retirement of Chris Luthin.
• Rite Aid Corporation (49) announced Jim Peters as its new COO. He will be assuming the position from Bryan Everett, who is stepping down.
Industry Insight
• CVS Health is stepping up its telehealth offering. The company announced that its retail medical clinic, MinuteClinic has rolled out its video visit offering in Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Oregon, and Washington. The service is now available in a total of 32 states.
• Raley’s Family of Fine Stores announced it plans to close 27 of its in-store pharmacies. Prescription files for those locations have been sold to nearby Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid stores.
• Sam’s Club announced it is piloting a program that will offer its members four different bundled healthcare options that will help cover the costs of routine primary care, dental, optical and alternative medicine and also offer select free generics.
• Vitamin Shoppe Industries has unveiled a new innovative retail store concept in Edgewater, NJ. The Vitamin Shoppe is planning to roll out five new locations with a similar format through January 2020.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. announced a plan to transfer seven of its existing company-managed clinics in the Cincinnati area to TriHealth. The clinics, which are set to open in the first quarter of 2020, will be owned and operated by TriHealth.
Real Estate
• The Bartell Drug Company has opened a new location in the Belltown mall in Seattle, WA.
• Genoa Healthcare recently opened 9 new pharmacies across 7 states.
• Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. announced plans to remodel approximately 100 Sally Beauty Supply stores in the North Texas region, with stores being upgraded consistent with a recent concept store test in Las Vegas.
Technology News
• CVS Health announced it is expanding the reach of its BeautyIRL experience. The interactive beauty department will reach nearly 50 stores by the end of 2019 in the New York City, Los Angeles, Miami and Boston markets.
• Microsoft Corporation and Nuance partner to transform the doctor-patient experience with ambient clinical intelligence (ACI). Working in tandem with long-term electronic health record (EHR) partners to develop the technology, ACI will deliver a seamless and engaging interaction between clinicians and patients. Through patient consent, ACI will synthesize patient-clinician conversations, integrate that data with contextual information from the EHR, and auto-populate the patient’s medical record in the system.
• Vitamin Shoppe Industries is opening a new innovation store in Edgewater, NJ. The completely reimagined 3,185 sq. ft. space features interactive elements such as on-demand digital product guides, enhanced mobile checkout, a complimentary body composition analysis station, and a supplement sampling machine.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has partnered with delivery company Postmates to bring on-demand delivery to customers in New York City. Postmates will soon be delivering OTC, health, beauty and grocery products from 174 Walgreens and Duane Reade locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
