Walgreens Launches Health Care Division, Ready to Take on Risk

Walgreens Boots Alliance is still honing its strategy, but recent moves indicate the company appears ready to go all in on health care. The retail pharmacy giant recently launched Walgreens Health, a new division created for all its health care assets, including its majority holdings in VillageMD and CareCentrix.

Walgreens earlier this month invested $5.5 billion in those two companies and, in a recent investor conference, company leaders said they are willing to take on risk-based contracts and will expand health and wellness services. Key to those efforts will be building out Walgreens Health Corner concept, which in many ways resembles CVS’ HealthHubs.

Walgreens now operates 40 Health Corner locations, providing consumers with access to pharmacists, nurses and dietitians who can assist them with health, nutrition, fitness and disease-management care coordination, among other services. Company leaders say the goal is to orchestrate the consumer journey across the care continuum — from wellness to primary and specialty care through pre- and post-acute care.

Whether Walgreens will make health care the central focus of its stores remains to be seen, but based on recent developments, that may be where the company is headed.