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C h a i n D ru g s to re D a i l y S a t u rd a y, A p ri l 2 6 , 2 0 1 4 4 AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION NOT AFFILIATED WITH NACDS Lee M. Oser CEO and Editor-in-Chief Kim Forrester Paul Harris Jeff Rosano Associate Publisher Lorrie Baumann Editorial Director JoEllen Lowry Jeanie Catron Jeff Calvello Associate Editors Yasmine Brown Vicky Glover Graphic Designers Mandy Feld Ruth Haltiwanger Customer Service Managers Jules Denton Account Manager Enrico Cecchi European Sales Chain Drugstore Daily is published by Oser Communications Group ©2014. All rights reserved. Executive and editorial offices at: 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715 520-721-1300/Fax: 520-721-6300 www.oser.com European offices located at Lungarno Benvenuto Cellini, 11, 50125 Florence, Italy. CDD – HEALTHCARE ANALYTICS Big data and data analytics are hot topics in virtually every industry, and with good reason. The resulting insight can improve virtually every aspect of a company's business, from operations to customer loyalty. In the healthcare area, the possi- bilities are especially exciting, because the resulting insights have the potential to improve patient outcomes by helping improve adherence, address transitional care issues, reduce hospital readmissions and much more. All parties involved in healthcare can benefit. Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and other groups are analyzing data to uncover trends related to relapses and adherence to medical therapies. Massive amounts of data are being sorted to gain insight regarding medical compliance and the prevention of disease in seeming- ly healthy individuals. Given their vast amounts of patient information – nearly 90 percent of Americans get their phar- macy benefit through a PBM – PBMs can crunch data in multiple ways to help identify which patients will have issues with medications. In another example, Express Scripts is unveiling a program to discover which patients are failing in adherence by dis- ease type – high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma and osteoporo- sis. They will observe variables such as patient prescription history and neighborhood economic status to predict which patients will likely stop taking their medications. Express Scripts is reporting a success rate of approxi- mately 90 percent in its testing of this model. (Healthcare Insights, Feb. 2013, http://lab.express-scripts.com/2013/02/) Improved patient care and lower health costs are the ultimate goals of such programs. Patients who fail to take medications properly can be identified and can receive help from increased patient engagement with the pharmacist SEASONAL STRATEGIES FOR THE CANDY AISLE Do you realize that in the drug channel, seasonal candy represents 50 percent of confectionery sales? Since seasonal candy can drive store traffic, Mars Chocolate North America offers drug retailers three keys to suc- cess: secondary displays to attract atten- tion, festive new products to energize sales and a forecasting tool to ensure ade- quate supply. Secondary displays play a crucial role in boosting seasonal confectionery sales. Retailers should place displays in "hot spot" locations, such as the front end, pharmacy, grocery aisle, cooler vault and photo area. Mars Chocolate offers unique, colorful displays that cap- ture a shopper's attention and ultimately converts them to a purchaser. "Effective POS helps make shop- ping a little easier and rewarding for the consumer, which translates into a posi- tive experience at that retailer," explained Larry Lupo, Vice President of Sales – Convenience & Drug Channels, Mars Chocolate North America. "When devel- oping a seasonal merchandising program, we always lead with consumer insights. At Mars, we're constantly review- ing shopper data and consumer trends, and we share these insights with our retail partners." One trend is the increase in demand for seasonally themed shapes. Mars Chocolate continues to expand its assortment, and this year the company will offer TWIX ® Brand Ghosts and SNICKERS ® Pumpkins for Halloween, as well as TWIX Brand Santas and MILKY WAY ® Simply Caramel Snowmen for the holidays. Continued on Page 25 Continued on Page 25