Strategic partnership combines primary care and pharmacy services to simplify the healthcare experience
DEERFIELD, Ill. & CHICAGO, Dec. 15, 2021 – Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) and VillageMD today announced plans to expand into San Antonio with the opening of nine Village Medical at Walgreens primary care practices over the next year. These openings represent expansion into the fifth major market in Texas, following Houston, El Paso, Austin and Dallas. Through the Walgreens and VillageMD coordinated care model, patients receive full-service primary care alongside convenient and cost-effective pharmacy services.
“San Antonio residents deserve access to comprehensive, high-quality primary care,” said Tyra Francis, M.D., a local Village Medical physician. “For patients with chronic conditions, our coordinated care model is especially beneficial – with increased opportunities to experience improved healthcare outcomes and lowered costs of care.”
Chronic health conditions account for 75 percent of Texas healthcare expenditures,[i] yet many areas lack access to primary care. In fact, Texas ranks 47th in the nation in the number of primary care providers accessible to residents.[ii]
“Walgreens and VillageMD are on a mission to make healthcare simpler,” said Rick Fernandez, registered pharmacist and regional healthcare director for Greater Texas, Walgreens. “As people’s medical needs continue to evolve with the current pandemic, we’re providing them greater access to more personalized care using a streamlined approach that leverages the collaborative expertise of our pharmacy teams and Village Medical’s physicians.”
Village Medical primary care physicians and Walgreens pharmacists work together to provide care for chronic health conditions, preventive services and treatment of everyday illnesses and injuries. Within the same visit, patients have access to care from physicians while also ensuring their prescriptions, medication refills and affordable substitution options are readily available.
Soon, these Village Medical at Walgreens locations in San Antonio will create more than 850 full-time jobs within the area.[iii] Village Medical will employ 380 well-compensated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) professionals.3
Walgreens Boots Alliance recently announced an increased investment in VillageMD to advance its strategic position in the delivery of value-based primary care. This investment will accelerate the opening of at least 600 Village Medical at Walgreens primary care practices in more than 30 U.S. markets by 2025 and 1,000 by 2027, with more than half of those practices in medically underserved communities.
Village Medical at Walgreens locations accept a wide range of health insurance options including Medicare. Patients may access care and support through in-person, at-home and telehealth visits. Patients can learn more and book appointments by visiting https://www.villagemedical.com/locations/texas.
For more information as well as multimedia assets, please visit the Walgreens Newsroom.
About Walgreens Boots Alliance
Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) is an integrated pharmacy, healthcare and retail leader serving millions of customers and patients every day, with a 170-year heritage of caring for communities.
A trusted, global innovator in retail pharmacy with approximately 13,000 locations across the U.S., Europe and Latin America, WBA plays a critical role in the healthcare ecosystem. The company is reimagining local healthcare and well-being for all as part of its purpose – to create more joyful lives through better health. Through dispensing medicines, improving access to a wide range of health services, providing high quality health and beauty products and offering anytime, anywhere convenience across its digital platforms, WBA is shaping the future of healthcare.
WBA has more than 315,000 team members and a presence in nine countries through its portfolio of consumer brands: Walgreens, Boots, Duane Reade, the No7 Beauty Company, Benavides in Mexico and Ahumada in Chile. Additionally, WBA has a portfolio of healthcare-focused investments located in several countries, including China and the U.S.
The company is proud of its contributions to healthy communities, a healthy planet, an inclusive workplace and a sustainable marketplace. WBA has been recognized for its commitment to operating sustainably: it is an index component of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) and was named to the 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2021.
(WBA-GEN)
About VillageMD
VillageMD, through its subsidiary Village Medical, is a leading, national provider of value-based primary care services. VillageMD partners with physicians to provide the tools, technology, operations, staffing support and industry relationships to deliver high-quality clinical care and better patient outcomes, while reducing the total cost of care. The Village Medical brand provides primary care for patients at traditional free-standing practices, Village Medical at Walgreens practices, at home and via virtual visits. VillageMD and Village Medical have grown to 15 markets and are responsible for more than 1.6 million patients. VillageMD is also the largest participating sponsor of CMS’ new Direct Contracting program and estimates it serves more than 56,000 patients. To learn more, please visit www.villageMD.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements. All statements in this release that are not historical are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those related to the timing and effectiveness of collaboration plans and implementation, the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the strategic partnership, competitive actions in the marketplace, and the ability to achieve anticipated financial and operating results in the amounts and at the times anticipated, as well as those described in Item 1A (Risk Factors) of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.’s Form 10-K for its fiscal year ending August 31, 2019 and Form 10-Q for its fiscal quarter ending February 29, 2020, and in other documents that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. files or furnishes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Each of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., Walgreens and VillageMD do not undertake, and expressly disclaim, any duty or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement after the date of this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.
