Healthcare

STOCKTON, Calif. - Fifty-nine Raley's supermarkets in Northern California averted a shutdown of their pharmacy operations yesterday when the chain called the pharmacists' union back to the negotiating table, according to a report in The Stockton Record.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Healthnotes Inc. (HNI), provider of health and lifestyle information, today announced it is providing content on a wide range of health and wellness issues to The Kroger Co. for use on its corporate and division Web sites.

RALEIGH, N.C. - Health officials in Wake County, N.C., on Saturday advised up to 7,500 Harris Teeter customers to throw out food and receive treatment after an employee was diagnosed with hepatitis A, The Associated Press reports.

WASHINGTON - Food and biomedical products from cloned and genetically engineered animals pose no significant health risks, but stronger U.S. government oversight must be implemented to ensure its safety, a National Academy of Sciences panel said on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - More than half of supermarket operators say that pharmacy operations are a very important part of their business strategy, and nearly 70 percent say that it will be an important component by 2004, according to a new FMI report.

NEW YORK - No. 1 drug chain Walgreen Co. on Thursday became the latest retailer to say it may have to pull out of a state Medicaid program because of cutbacks in reimbursements, Reuters reports.

LAKE FOREST, Calif. - Worldwide Medical Corp., marketer of First Check branded home screening tests for drugs of abuse, alcohol, cholesterol and colorectal disease, has secured a regional distribution agreement with Kroger for its test of the popular recreational drug ecstasy.

NEW YORK - Pathmark narrowly avoided a walkout by some 800 pharmacists and technicians with a last-minute contract agreement, reported the New York Times.