Who's for McMedicine?

Posted Mar 5th 2008 5:28PM by Zack Miller
Filed under: Walgreen Co (WAG), CVS Corp (CVS)

I love going to the drugstore. Whether it's CVS (NYSE: CVS) or my neighborhood Walgreen (NYSE: WAG), I love the convenience of being able to buy everything I need and everything I don't need in one place. I buy lots of Entenmann's donuts, toothpaste, and school supplies at my local store. And now, I may be able to get a flu shot at the store as well.

The New York Times ran an article today entitled "Should Pharmacists Give Flu Shots?" It seems New York City has been suffering from increasingly bad flu seasons. To combat such breakouts, the city is now attempting to pass a bill allowing pharmacists to give flu and pneumonia shots.

The same article quoted the Department of Health as saying that influenza is "now widespread in New York City, with more than 1,000 flu-related visits to emergency rooms each day. Some 20 percent of the current flu vaccine supply is unused."

I feel my local drugstore is competent to sell me nail clippers and gum, but do we really want these stores dispensing medical services?

Zack Miller is the managing editor of IsraelNewsletter.com and a former equity analyst for a leading multinational hedge fund.

Tags: cvs, flu, new york times, NewYorkTimes, nyt.com, pharmacy, wag, walgreen

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-05-2008 @ 6:43PM

DALE BOGGS said...

i do not believe a local pharmacy should practice medicine giving me good advice about drugs is one thing but giving shots is another

3-05-2008 @ 10:24PM

HELEN said...

Giving a shot takes no special expertise. I was taught how to do it in 5 minutes. The issue is that the pharmacists are already overburdened by high volumes of medication orders. They have unskilled workers helping them. Medical errors are made. This is all about profits, greed, money. Nobody cares about safety or our health. It's all about the almighty dollar.

3-05-2008 @ 11:03PM

m gross said...

Giving a shot takes no special expertise, as long as you've been trained to do it, and are well aware of the indications and precautions, understand basic anatomy and can both recognize and treat reactions and complications. Aren't nurses and doctors in a better position than a pharmacist, who's education is directed quite differently?
What happens to a patient who develops a severe allergic reaction in a busy drugstore?
Frankly, there's a good reason that medicine has been compartmentalized for a hundred years, and none of these changes, or blurring of the boundaries, will foster better health care. They are pushed largely to save the insurance companies money, despite their already obscene profits at the expense of their clients (and health providers).

3-06-2008 @ 12:22AM

Brockage said...

I wonder (I really do - not trying to be smart) if the Soviet Union tried store clinics, maybe at GUM or at smaller shops - it seems a natural for a mass society approach to citizens seen as "the multitudes."

3-06-2008 @ 8:22AM

roudy11z said...

I hope if WAG starts these services that it isn't as high as the 30 count generic sinus medication over the counter at $8 when WMT has the 60 count for $8. The same stuff!! I could not believe it but this is CORRECT. I will allow WAG to stay in my mutual fund rather than buy it from my broker.
Mr. Man from Texas