Walgreens reported Q4 earnings on October 12 that fell short of analyst expectations, the first time in nearly a decade the company has had two consecutive quarters with lower-than-expected earnings, according to CNBC.

Walgreens spent its 2023 fiscal year, which ended on August 31, trying to transform from a pharmacy chain into a “consumer-centric” healthcare company, investing roughly $13 billion to build its US healthcare segment. But company executives said during Thursday’s earnings call that they’re “not satisfied” with the return on investment so far.

“Our performance this year has not reflected [Walgreens’s] strong assets, brand legacy, or our commitment to our customers and patients,” interim CEO Ginger Graham said in a statement.

Keep reading here.—MA

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Employers in the Golden State will soon be required to offer employees up to five days’ leave for a reproductive loss.

California’s SB 848 requires both private and public employers with five or more workers to allow employees to request time off if they’ve suffered a reproductive loss. The measure stipulates that the leave doesn’t need to be taken consecutively and can be taken within three months of the loss event.

Reproductive loss. California defines reproductive loss as a failed adoption, failed surrogacy, miscarriage, stillbirth, or an unsuccessful assisted reproduction.

Keep reading at HR Brew.—AD

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This week’s Making Rounds spotlights Babak Azizzadeh, a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon who serves as founder and director of Beverly Hills’s Center for Advanced Facial Plastic Surgery.

Azizzadeh, who is also the co-founder and president of clinical research platform Macro Trials, discussed how new injectable GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss like Ozempic are affecting plastic surgery trends.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What are you using and hearing and seeing about the use of GLP-1s for weight loss, and what could the trend mean for the future of healthcare?

We don’t know all the information yet. Over the next couple of years, I think we’re going to know a lot more whether this is just a trend that’s going to stay, or healthcare providers—as well as consumers and patients—are going to continue demanding and desiring to utilize this for weight loss purposes in addition to patients who have diabetes. The jury’s out.

Keep reading here.—SY

Do you work in healthcare or have information about the industry that we should know? Email Shannon at [email protected]. For confidential conversations, ask Shannon for her number on Signal.

Today’s top healthcare reads.

Stat: Three hospital closures in Alabama could mean more pregnant people may have to drive 17–100 miles to the next labor and delivery unit. (NBC News)

Quote: “I don’t fear dying, but I do fear dying in the hospital.”—Heather Avant, a 42-year-old Texan with sickle cell disease, on long emergency room waits (KFF Health News)

Read: Medicare Advantage plans, which have gained a reputation as being “slow pay or no pay,” are causing financial problems for rural hospitals. (KFF Health News)

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