Here are nine of the biggest actions pharmacy chains Walmart, Walgreens and CVS took so far this year, listed in order of Becker's Hospital Review's coverage:
1. CVS Health and Walgreens closed some pharmacies on the weekends because of staffing shortages during the omicron surge. Neither company specified how many locations were affected.
2. CVS Health rolled out a digital system to make finding and buying at-home COVID-19 tests easier.
3. Walgreens collaborated with Shipt, an online delivery service, to transport more than 25,000 products to customers. Over-the-counter medicines, personal care and convenience products can be ordered, but prescriptions cannot.
4. Walmart implemented a mental health platform for its employees. The company partnered with BetterUp to design the digital service.
5. Walmart stopped selling tobacco products from select locations in California, Florida, Arkansas and New Mexico.
6. Walgreens launched 22 robot-powered prescription-fulfillment centers across the nation. The robots can fill 300 prescriptions in an hour, which is about the same number a pharmacist can fill in a day.
7. Walmart initiated a telehealth diabetes service after partnering with national telehealth provider MeMD.
8. CVS Health settled an opioid lawsuit with Florida for $484 million. The settlement will be paid over an 18-month period. Walgreens paid $683 million to settle in the same case.
9. Walgreens tacked on a virtual oncology care company to its telehealth system, Walgreens Find Care. The service has more than 45 partnerships with healthcare providers.