Retailer Walgreens introduced Tuesday that it’s partnering with expertise firm Pearl Well being to assist main care suppliers interact in value-based care.
Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens is a part of the U.S. Retail Pharmacy and U.S. Healthcare segments of Walgreens Boots Alliance. It has practically 9,000 retail areas throughout the U.S. New York Metropolis-based Pearl Well being works with suppliers to assist them shift from fee-for-service fee fashions to value-based care through the use of its expertise to establish the sufferers who want essentially the most consideration. It then supplies insights on the best way to enhance care and decrease value.
By means of the partnership, Pearl Well being will work with main care suppliers by providing its expertise and information insights to assist them higher their care. Walgreens is then offering prescription achievement, treatment adherence, immunization and diagnostic testing providers. As well as, Walgreens provides care transitions to the house by its possession of CareCentrix.
To start out, the businesses are specializing in suppliers caring for members within the ACO REACH program, in accordance with Steve Wogen, vp and chief progress officer at Walgreens Boots Alliance. This system is an alternate fee mannequin from CMS that helps main care physicians transition to value-based care.
The partnership with Pearl Well being is supposed to enrich Walgreens’ majority possession of VillageMD, a value-based main care firm.
“VillageMD in the present day buys doctor practices after which runs and manages these practices,” Wogen mentioned in an interview. “What Pearl might be doing is extending in communities the place VillageMD doesn’t exist in the present day and as a substitute of truly buying physicians, we are going to simply accomplice with main care physicians in new geographies that VillageMD isn’t in in order that we will attain extra physicians and extra sufferers sooner.”
A part of why Pearl Well being selected to work with Walgreens is due to its Rx capabilities, mentioned Mike Kopko, CEO of Pearl Well being.
“To have one of many largest drug distributors on the planet as your accomplice, it’s tantamount to a dream come true while you’re beginning in value-based care,” Kopko mentioned.
Wogen added that the businesses’ providers work effectively collectively.
“[Pearl’s] focus is tech, our focus is on healthcare providers,” he mentioned. “They’re not within the healthcare providers enterprise. They depend on the doctor to behave on their insights. So having the doctor plus Walgreens performing on these insights can drive decrease prices and higher outcomes sooner.”
Wogen declined to share the enterprise mannequin of the partnership.
One business professional mentioned the transfer has some severe advantages for Walgreens. It helps the corporate “diversify into various fee fashions which in return reduces their total reliance on fee-for-service quantity,” mentioned Kate Festle, director of healthcare and life sciences at consulting agency West Monroe.
“Pearl has seen numerous progress in its supplier and affected person panels,” Festle added in an e-mail. “Pair that momentum with Pearl’s analytical skill to establish sufferers who can profit most from care administration interventions, and it’s a no brainer why Walgreens needs to accomplice: Pearl brings the affected person inhabitants and care administration platform and Walgreens brings the treatment administration infrastructure to assist shut care gaps.”
Picture: metamorworks, Getty Photos
