Chain Drug Review, July 27, 2020

Vol 42 No 10 www chaindrugreview com July 27 2020 NACDS meets top HHS official WASHINGTON The National Association of Chain Drug Stores board held a virtual meeting this month with Health and Human Services assistant secretary for health Dr Brett Giroir to further discuss the array of policies essential to pharmacys pandemic response especially as the nation prepares a deployment strategy for COVID 19 and influenza vaccines The meeting followed up on the legislative and regulatory priorities discussed during NACDS June virtual fly in in which board members communicated the value of pharmacy to a top official of the Trump administration three senators and three members of the House of Representatives Board members emphasized the need to eliminate remaining regulatory barriers that prevent pharmacists from fully engaging in the national response to COVID 19 particularly in the areas of testing treatments and vaccinations Since the earliest days of the pandemic NACDS has remained connected with members of the executive and legislative branches As the fall approaches the association is urging policy actions now in order to ensure pharmacists vaccination authority and to fully empower pharmacies and pharmacists to meet patients needs throughout the pandemic such as scaling and sustaining COVID 19 testing and keeping patients on their medication therapies We are appreciative to Admiral Giroir for the opportunity to discuss the ongoing and irreplaceable role of pharmacy in response to the COVID 19 pandemic said NACDS president and chief executive officer Steve Anderson Leveraging community pharmacy is critical to the well being of individuals and Brett Giroir communities and to the national pandemic response NACDS ongoing dialogue with lawmakers is key to dramatically expanding and maintaining patient access to care and ensuring the rapid deployment of pharmacist provided COVID 19 treatments and vaccines when available The June meeting was with Centers for Medicare and Med More retailers are requiring shoppers to cover their faces Chains to shoppers No mask no service A new platform will advance Walgreens digital tranformation WBA adds momentum to omnichannel drive NEW YORK Along with frequent hand washing wearing a facial mask or covering is perhaps the single most effective step individuals can take to combat the spread of COVID 19 and mitigate its spread Despite the resistance of many states to mandate masking up such as Florida and Arizona which are experiencing spikes in cases half of the states in the country have now issued mask mandates including some that were reluctant to do so in the early stages of the outbreak such as Texas and Alabama But with the medical consensus now virtually unanimous on masks many retail chains have taken matters into their own hands by requiring customers to don masks before entering their stores For its part the worlds largest retail trade association the National Retail Federation issued a statement encouraging all retailers to adopt a nationwide policy requiring masks and applauded the many retailers that have already done so such as Walmart which put its mandate into effect starting July 20 for all of its locations including Sams Club While were certainly not the first business to require face coverings we know this is a simple step everyone can take for their safety and the DEERFIELD Ill As part of its ongoing efforts to broaden its omnichannel offerings Walgreens Boots Alliance WBA is moving forward with three transformational steps First WBA recently announced an expansion of its strategic partnership with Microsoft and Adobe to launch a world class digital experience and customer insights platform to deliver personalized health care and shopping offerings The platform according to WBA will provide Walgreens and Boots customers with products and services from its global pharmacy and retail businesses wherever whenever and however the customers may want safety of others in our facilities Walmart U S chief operating officer Dacona Smith and Sams Club COO Lance De La Rosa wrote in a blog post According to the CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention face coverings help decrease the spread of COVID 19 and because the virus can be spread by people who dont have symptoms and dont know they are infected its critically important for everyone to wear a face covering in public and social distance The executives noted that about 65 of the retailers 5000 stores and clubs in the country are located in areas where governments have mandated that shoppers were face coverings to help block the spread of COVID 19 Smith and De La Rosa said Walmarts move will bring consistency across the chains CVS Health is also requiring face coverings for its shoppers with COO Jon Roberts stating With the recent spike in COVID 19 infections were joining others in taking the next step and requiring all customers to wear face coverings when entering any of our stores throughout the country effective Monday July 20 Roberts added that store employees are not expected to play the them Establishing this platform the company adds will advance WBA into the second phase of its digital transformation one of its key strategic priorities At WBA our mission is to deliver extraordinary experiences that enrich our customers lives Capabilities to combine previously disparate customer data sets including information from more than 100 million members of our loyalty programs into a more singular unified view of the customer powered by these modern technology platforms will enable us to truly personalize our omnichannel health care and retail offering said WBA global chief market Page 13 OF 2020 ANNUAL REPORT RETAIL Page 57 PHARMACY Continued on page 8 Walmart taps into Medicare DALLAS Walmart has taken out employment ads in the Dallas Fort Worth area for Medicare insurance agents The retailer also is hiring call center representatives who will work remotely for Walmart Insurance Services LLC By joining our new team you will be part of the first to experience this adventure as we grow this business the ad says You will be responsible for helping the Medicare community in a meaningful way by enrolling customers in Medicare products and services over the phone Youll provide helpful guidance timely assistance and an extraordinary level of care to customers who need your help The service would go further than Walmarts joint ventures with insurers that have established consulting stations in stores Were always looking for ways to help our customers save money and live better and insurance services is another way we do that said a Walmart spokeswoman Were expanding our current insurance services to now include the sale of insurance policies to our customers About one fifth of the U S population is covered by Medicare and that share is projected to increase dramatically Continued on page 8 Continued on page 8