One year after forming an alliance with pharmacy schools, Walgreens says it has taken steps to get more people interested in the profession and improve working conditions at the chain.

Walgreens announced the Deans Advisory Council last February, framing it as a collaboration with pharmacy schools to boost the number of students enrolling and address some of the broader issues in the industry, like burnout and declining reimbursements from pharmacy benefit managers.

“Our goal is to really align the workplace with training to transform the future of community pharmacy on a national scale,” Angela Kashuba, dean of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s pharmacy school and co-chair of the council, told Healthcare Brew.

How we got here. There aren’t enough students graduating from pharmacy schools to meet job demand. In 2023 (the latest year for which data is available), 12,639 doctor of pharmacy degrees were awarded in the US, down from 13,323 in 2022, according to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), a trade group that represents pharmacy schools.

Keep reading here.—MA

Sometimes a name changer can be a game changer.

Since inception back in the 1960s, the physician assistant (PA) role has become a cornerstone of healthcare, filling jobs in every area from primary care to surgery. And in the last six decades, the role has evolved significantly from supporting doctors into independent care providers with broader responsibilities.

In 1980, there were about 29,000 active PAs in the US, but by 2021, there were 125,000+ in practice. A 2021 paper in the American Journal of Managed Care attributes some of the growth to the Affordable Care Act in 2010, which increased the number of insured patients seeking care by 25 million, according to the paper, as well as the responsibilities and size of the healthcare workforce.

In recognition of that shift, the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) House of Delegates changed its name in 2021, no longer using the word “assistant.”

“When you just look at the title alone, assistant, it’s far more than semantics. Assistant, by definition, suggests that they’re just assisting someone else in delivering care,” Chantell Taylor, AAPA’s chief of public affairs and advocacy, told Healthcare Brew.

Keep reading here.—CM

Here’s something you probably never expected to hear, especially if you’re a basketball fan: Duke and the University of North Carolina (UNC) are teaming up.

Duke Health and UNC Health filed plans on Jan. 28 to build North Carolina’s first standalone children’s hospital, North Carolina Children’s.

The two academic health systems each have children’s hospitals affiliated with their larger campuses. But this hospital, with an estimated 500 acute care beds, will increase their current capacity, according to a press release, allowing them to provide care for more kids.

Theresa Flynn, president of the North Carolina chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told Healthcare Brew the anticipated $2 billion–$3 billion 100+ acre campus will help alleviate a “severe” shortage.

North Carolina has one pediatrician for every 2,634 children, ranking it 21st in the nation in terms of the number of pediatricians and pediatric specialists, according to the American Board of Pediatrics.

Keep reading here.—CC

After a pandemic boom, retail pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid are facing challenges due to changing consumer habits, increased competition, and struggles in the primary care market. As more customers shop online, these companies are rethinking their strategies to stay relevant and competitive.