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☆ An infamous hacking group is reportedly behind the cyberattack that has left US pharmacies reeling
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Camilo Fonseca | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A high-profile ransomware gang is responsible for the outage that has paralyzed US pharmacies, Reuters reported. Blackcat is behind the attack on UnitedHealth Group's claims management arm last week, per the report. The outage at Chain Healthcare, the payment management arm of healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group, was caused by a ransomware attack by hackers affiliated with Blackcat, Reuters reported, citing two unnamed sources. AdvertisementLast week's attack on Change Healthcare forced its parent company to disconnect its own systems "to prevent further impact," according to UnitedHealth Group. But experts aren't sure if the group responsible for last week's hack was sponsored by foreign actors.

Persons: Blackcat, UnitedHealth, —, Reddit, cybercriminals, Brett Callow Organizations: Reuters, Service, Healthcare, UnitedHealth, Blackcat, Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, UnitedHealth Group, American Pharmacists Association, SEC, Colonial Pipeline, Google, Palo Alto Networks

☆ Walgreens is cancelling corporate bonuses as big pharmacies face increasing difficulties
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Walgreens on Tuesday sent out a notice to staff announcing that annual bonuses would not be funded. Tuesday was the second day of a planned three-day series of scattered walkouts by Walgreens pharmacy staff. A Walgreens representative clarified to CNN that only managers were eligible for bonuses at pharmacies. “We are building on the company’s pharmacy strength and trusted brand to evolve healthcare delivery. Stefano Pessina, the former Walgreens CEO and current executive chair of the board, worth nearly $7 billion, made more than $8 million in compensation last year, according to Walgreens compensation filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Persons: Manmohan Mahajan, ”, Fraser Engerman, Tim Wentworth, Neal Sample, Rosalind Brewer, Vincent Alban Vincent Alban, Reddit, Stefano Pessina, Shane Jerominski Organizations: New, New York CNN, Walgreens, Employees, CNN, Walgreens Boots Alliance, ”, Rite, CVS, REUTERS, Reuters, Securities and Exchange Commission, Labor, Reuters Labor, Workers, American Pharmacists Association Locations: New York, Deerfield , Illinois, U.S, Southern California, Deerfield, Il, Arizona , Washington , Massachusetts, Oregon

☆ Why Walgreens pharmacy workers are walking off the job
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

New York CNN —Retail pharmacists and technicians around the country say they’re overworked, underpaid and fed up. Pharmacy staff at Walgreens locations across the country called out of work on Monday to protest harsh working conditions, leaving some stores closed or critically understaffed. Organizers told CNN that hundreds of workers participated in the organized action, which is expected to last through Wednesday. The walkouts come just two weeks after dozens of pharmacy employees at CVS, America’s largest retail pharmacy chain, walked off the job in Kansas City. Walgreens on Monday said it understands “the immense pressures felt across the US in retail pharmacy right now,” according to Fraser Engerman, senior director of external relations at Walgreens.

Persons: ”, Michael Hogue, Shane Jerominski, Amy Thibault, Fraser Engerman, “ There’s, Dr, Peter Bonis, “ I’m, Hogue, Amanda Applegate, don’t, “, Jerry Seinfeld, that’s, CVS walkouts, “ I’ve, they’ve, we’ve Organizations: New, New York CNN, Walgreens, CNN, CVS, Employees, American Pharmacists Association, Community Pharmacists Association, Pharmacists, Walmart, Amazon, Kluwer’s, Wolters Kluwer Health, Pharmacy, Kansas Pharmacists Association, American, National Alliance of State Pharmacy Locations: New York, Kansas City, United States, “, Kansas

☆ Walgreens walkout: 5 things you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Organizers told CNN they had heard from well over 500 interested stores (out of approximately 9,000) across the country. Another organizer told CNN that Walgreens had asked regional leaders to mobilize and staff the pharmacies on Monday. It’s an incredibly rewarding job, but it’s hard,” said Amanda Applegate, the interim executive director of the Kansas Pharmacists Association. CVS pharmacists also walked off the jobCVS recently had a walkout and talks are not over. Another meeting with Shah is planned for late this week, but no time or location has been set, a CVS walkout organizer told CNN.

Persons: they’ve, “, ”, Amanda Applegate, Peter Bonis, Michael Hogue, Prem Shah, Shah, Amy Thibault, Fraser Engerman Organizations: New, New York CNN — Pharmacy, CNN, WGA, United Auto Worker, Facebook, Walgreens, American Pharmacists Association, National Alliance of State Pharmacy, CVS, Kansas Pharmacists Association, Wolters Kluwer Health, CVS Pharmacy, Kansas City, ” Locations: New York, Kansas City, United States, Kansas

☆ Your local Walgreens might be closed this week. Here's why pharmacy workers are walking off the job.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Pharmacy staff at dozens of Walgreens locations have walked off the job over workplace conditions. AdvertisementAdvertisementPharmacy staff at dozens of Walgreens locations walked off the job Monday, calling for increased staffing levels and improved safety policies. Walgreens has approximately 9,000 locations across the US, and a comprehensive list of affected locations was not available as of Monday morning. Pharmacy workers at CVS locations in Kansas City walked off the job in September over similar issues of unsafe and stressful workplace conditions. AdvertisementAdvertisementHogue also said that the APhA supports workers who have decided to "pull back from unsafe work conditions," such as harassment and understaffing.

Persons: Walgreens, —, undertrained, Michael Hogue, Hogue, I'm Organizations: Walgreens, Service, American Pharmacists, Pharmacy, Kansas City, Kansas City Star Locations: Kansas

☆ Walgreens walkout: Your pharmacy might be closed next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Employees at more than 500 of America’s approximately 9,000 Walgreens stores across the United States have expressed interest and solidarity, a Walgreens pharmacy employee and walkout organizer said, though fewer will likely end up participating. The planned action comes after pharmacy employees walked off the job at multiple CVS stores in the Kansas City area last week. “We have a widespread problem in the US of inadequate staffing in community-based pharmacies.”A CVS Pharmacy in Washington, DC. CVS and Walgreens pharmacists are not currently represented by a union and these efforts have been coordinated by individual workers. However, multiple sources told CNN that employees at CVS and Walgreens have recently been in touch with union groups.

Persons: they’ve, they’re, ”, I’m, I’ve, “, he’s, “ We’re, Fraser Engerman, “ pharmageddon, Michael Hogue, Brendan Smialowski, Prem Shah, Shah, Amy Thibault, Amanda Applegate, Kansas City “, Applegate Organizations: New, New York CNN, Employees, CNN, Walgreens, Monday, CVS Pharmacy, CVS, American Pharmacists Association, Getty, Kansas Pharmacists Association, Pharmacists, Kaiser Permanente, Kansas City Locations: New York, United States, Kansas City, Rhode, Washington , DC, AFP

☆ Exclusive: Walmart cuts pharmacist pay, hours while workload piles up
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Siddharth Cavale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Walmart also has agreed to pay $3.1 billion as its share of an opioid-related legal settlement, which is adding to its legal costs this year. For example, a pharmacist could go from an 80-hour, two-week pay period to one lasting 64 or 72 hours, said the source, who attended the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity. On average, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail chain pays its pharmacists more than $140,000 a year, excluding bonuses and incentives, according to Walmart. Earlier this year, Walmart scaled back the operating hours of its pharmacies by two hours at more than 4,500 U.S. stores, amid a shortage of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians that began during the pandemic. SHORTAGE OF PHARMACY TECHNICIANSThe underlying reason that chain drug stores like Walmart are scaling back pharmacists' hours is a shortage of pharmacy technicians, Hogue said.

Persons: haven't, Davey Lavergne, Marilee McInnis, Michael Hogue, Hogue, Siddharth Cavale, Jonathan Oatis, Andy Sullivan Organizations: Walmart, Reuters, Dow Jones Industrial, Health, Wellness, American Pharmacists Association, Pharmacy Workforce Center, Pharmacy, Thomson Locations: Arkansas , Tennessee , Missouri , Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Bentonville , Arkansas, Washington, New York

☆ Walmart cuts pharmacist pay, hours while workload piles up
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Walmart is asking some of its 16,000 pharmacists across the U.S. to voluntarily take pay cuts and reduce their working hours in a bid to reduce costs, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Walmart also agreed in late 2022 to pay $3.1 billion as its share of an opioid-related legal settlement, which is adding to its legal costs this year. For example, a pharmacist could go from an 80-hour, two-week pay period to one lasting 64 or 72 hours, the source said. On average, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail chain pays its pharmacists more than $140,000 a year, excluding bonuses and incentives, according to Walmart. Earlier this year, Walmart scaled back the hours it operates its pharmacies by two hours at more than 4,500 U.S. stores, amid a shortage of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians that began during the pandemic.

Persons: haven't, Davey Lavergne, Marilee McInnis, Michael Hogue Organizations: Walmart, Reuters, Health, Wellness, American Pharmacists Association Locations: Arkansas , Tennessee , Missouri , Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Bentonville , Arkansas, Washington

On social media, families say they’ve hunted for hours for Tamiflu and the first-line antibiotics amoxicillin and Augmentin. They have one viral illness after another. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of US states have “high” or “very high” respiratory virus activity. As for the antibiotics amoxicillin and Augmentin – a combination of amoxicillin and clavulanate, an agent that helps guard against antibiotic resistance – it’s not entirely clear why demand is so high. Some viral illness, like influenza, can leave the body more vulnerable to secondary bacterial infections that may need treatment with antibiotics.

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