Retail pharmacy giant Walgreens made moves to grow its business in September, including pursuing new partnerships, opening more Village Medical at Walgreens sites and making new investments.
Here are seven moves Walgreens made in the past 30 days, listed in the order they were reported.
- Walgreens announced a collaboration with Blue Shield of California to deliver additional services to members. The program provides Walgreens Health Corner services to Blue Shield of California members. Health Corner services are largely advisory, focusing on nutrition, disease management and fitness.
- Walgreens and VillageMD said they will open four Village Medical at Walgreens locations in Phoenix by the end of 2021, in addition to the 18 they have already established in the city. The companies said the 22 locations will create more than 800 jobs in the Phoenix area. At the locations, customers can receive primary care from VillageMD primary care physicians alongside pharmacy services from Walgreens pharmacists.
- Walgreens signed a five-year affiliation with New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health to improve the health of New Yorkers and further health equity across the state. Under the agreement, Northwell and Walgreens will collaborate on new digital offerings and pharmacy services. Northwell also began offering Walgreens as an in-network pharmacy provider for its employees.
- Walgreens made a $970 million majority investment in Shields Health Solutions, a specialty pharmacy services provider for hospitals and health systems. The investment gives Walgreens about 71 percent ownership of Shields with the option to acquire the remaining equity interests in the future.
- To prepare for an influx of customers seeking COVID-19 boosters, Walgreens began offering bonuses to pharmacists and staff members who become certified as pharmacy technicians capable of administering shots.The company also began offering $5 in loyalty-card rewards to customers who get boosters in its stores.
- Walgreens Boots Alliance is reportedly considering a takeover of healthcare company Evolent Care. Evolent Health provides partnerships between healthcare providers and health plans and seeks to help providers transition to a value-based care model. It also works with insurance companies to cut costs and give guidance to physicians to achieve optimal care.
- Walgreens said it is acquiring the pharmacy business of Bi-Mart, a retail chain headquartered in Eugene, Ore. Under the deal, Walgreens gets 56 retail pharmacies in Oregon, Idaho and Washington.