Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now

Rite Aid's bankruptcy reflects how much the corner drugstore has changed

Oct 16, 2023
Corporate mergers and competition from supermarkets, discount clubs and online startups — among other forces — have altered how pharmacies need to do business.
The pharmacy business has seen lots of change in the last few decades.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

A New Jersey community pharmacy's vaccine rollout, a year later

Mar 1, 2022
This time last year, Bell Pharmacy was doing everything it could to prepare for COVID-19 vaccines ... without knowing when the doses would arrive.
Tony Minniti, owner of Bell Pharmacy, worked with community groups to bring the vaccine to local residents.
Courtesy Minniti

Shift to health services shows signs of success for big pharmacy chains

Feb 9, 2022
CVS has found a positive side effect of providing vaccines — increased retail sales. But what happens when vaccinations slow down?
Pharmacies like CVS have seen varied buying patterns during the pandemic, but providing COVID testing and vaccinations has brought more consumers into the stores.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Pharmacy chains plan to expand health care offerings

Nov 19, 2021
The pandemic highlighted their opportunity to meet everyday health care needs (and presented some challenges).
CVS announced its acquisition of the primary care firm Oak Street Health, adding to the pharmacy giant's already-expansive holdings in the health care market.
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images

CVS expands mental health services as pitch for personalized care

Aug 30, 2021
The service might help lessen the stigma and burden of seeking mental health care, a CVS executive says.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

In New Jersey, a small pharmacy and a neighborhood get ready for the vaccine

Mar 2, 2021
Bell Pharmacy is working with community organizers to vaccinate at-risk residents, but its owner doesn't know when that'll happen.
A nurse vaccinates a woman in Los Angeles. In New Jersey, pharmacist Tony Minniti is preparing to host vaccinations for community members.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

CVS boosts pharmacy hiring to handle flu, COVID-19 vaccine demands

Oct 19, 2020
The retailer plans to hire 15,000 additional staff, mostly pharmacy technicians.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Amazon acquires PillPack as it muscles its way into the health care industry

Jun 28, 2018
Hear that thud? That’s the sound of Amazon getting into the retail pharmacy business. Today the online retail giant snatched up PillPack, an online pharmacy that presorts prescription drugs and delivers them to your door. Walgreens, Rite Aid and CVS all saw their stock prices take a dive in early trading on news of the […]

Notice less candy around CVS cash registers? You're right

Sep 13, 2017
CVS wants to be known for improving health, so it's making subtle changes.
A display at CVS touting healthy snacks.
Sally Herships/ Marketplace

Amazon would be a disrupter if it sold prescriptions

May 17, 2017
A report from CNBC says Amazon is getting more serious about becoming a place for you to buy your prescription drugs. Amazon could be a major disrupter, as it has been when it entered other sectors, from books to groceries. The hundreds of billions of dollars Americans spend on prescriptions every year make the pharmacy business […]