Walgreens and Pearl Health Partner to Expand Value-Based Care

Walgreens and Pearl Health have announced a partnership to accelerate the expansion of value-based care in collaboration with community-based primary care physicians.¹

Value-based programs reward health care providers with incentives based off the quality of care they give to individuals with Medicare. They were created to reform how heath care is delivered and paid for. This large quality strategy is intended to provide better care for patients, better population-level health, and lower costs.²

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These programs are essential because they help pay providers based on the quality of care, rather than the quantity of care they give to individuals.²

Walgreens, a division of Walgreens Boots Alliance, and Pearl Health, a provider enablement company, will together provide unique care for individuals. The press release notes that Pearl Health’s role will be to offer technology and insight solutions that inspire clinical teams to offer personalized treatment for value-based and quality focused care. Walgreens’ role will be to provide complementary services, prescription fulfillment, immunizations, medication adherence counseling, diagnostic testing, and home transitions from hospital stays.¹

“Walgreens is committed to being the partner of choice for providers and health systems looking to transition quickly and effectively to value-based care and improve outcomes in the communities they serve,” said John Driscoll, executive vice president and president, US Healthcare, Walgreens Boots Alliance, in the press release. “Our partnership with Pearl Health allows us to reach more communities faster and enable comprehensive, affordable care that improves long-term health outcomes and fosters healthier communities.”¹

Walgreens recently made an investment in VillageMD, a provider of primary, multispecialty, and urgent care. This investment further illustrates Walgreens’ focus on value-based care as the partnership with Pearl Health provides a value-based delivery channel, according to the press release. This will allow Walgreens to access more patients and offer solutions to providers and health systems.¹

“At Pearl Health, we believe that local primary care providers are key to improving America’s overall health. Our technology-powered value-based care model aligns seamlessly with the health care services Walgreens offers, particularly in the most vulnerable communities,” said Michael Kopko, MBA, chief executive officer of Pearl Health, in the press release. “With a focus on proactive, coordinated care, we’ll collaborate to deliver a better solution to providers and ultimately deliver high-quality services to patients, while managing their care efficiently. We’re very excited about the implications of this partnership for patients in Medicare and beyond.”¹

References

1. Walgreens and Pearl Health Announce Strategic Partnership to Advance Value-Based Care Delivery. Business Wire. News release. September 12, 2023. Accessed September 12, 2023. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230912625674/en/Walgreens-and-Pearl-Health-Announce-Strategic-Partnership-to-Advance-Value-Based-Care-Delivery.

2. What are the value-based programs?. CMS.gov. News release. September 6, 2023. Accessed September 12, 2023. https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality/value-based-programs.