Are You Preparing for Walgreens Entry into Primary Care?

Funny how it all comes around.

Let’s power up the “way back machine” and travel back in time to Sunday, January 13, 2013, for a post titled “Will the Walgreens ACOs bring real competition to healthcare?” http://bit.ly/ZLLWY6

In this post, I speculated what, from a brand and care delivery perspective, it meant for hospitals and health systems with Walgreens entry into the ACO market. I also touched briefly on their considerable home health care and infusion presence with the purchase of Option Care Home Care and Infusion, the Take Care Clinics in stores, Workplace Health, and plans to enter the durable medical equipment channel. 

Fast forward to 2020.

During the intervening seven years, Walgreens merged with Boots Alliance in Europe to become the Walgreens Boots Alliance, with management changed becoming predominantly European. With the new regime, a new market strategy and focus of Walgreens took shape by dismantling the retail medicine strategy and selling off the pieces it all off, leaving just the drug stores.

Now, it’s back to the future with Walgreens the announcement that they are going into primary care. 

Image by Alterio Felines from Pixabay

Can you imagine the powerhouse Walgreens would be today had the new management understood the U.S. healthcare market and executed on a comprehensive strategic roadmap for retail healthcare? Hindsight is always 2020, they say. I guess that is why Walgreens just announced a new president to lead Walgreens that is American.

Which, brings us full circle to the title of today’s blog post, ”Are You Preparing for Walgreens Entry into Primary Care?” 

·         Are you ready to compete against the Walgreens brand awareness and name? 

·         Are you ready to compete based on the number of locations?  

·         Are to ready to compete based on convenience and accessibility? 

·         Are you ready to compete based on price? 

·         Whose brand do you think will make more of an impact when the time comes for people to find primary care physicians, your physician referral service, or Walgreens?

Much of what I wrote seven years ago still stands as valid for today. There is a lot more, and I, for one, do not doubt the ability of the brain trust over on Wilmot Ave in Deerfield, Illinois to pull this off and be successful along with any number of quality, outcome, or financial measures. 

After all, when the original strategy was put in place, I was the marketing executive for Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy at Walgreens Health Initiatives.  Maybe they will bring the band back together in some form and reprise the retail medicine strategy, which is more needed during the pandemic.

If I were in a hospital or health system today, I’d be worried. Things are about to get a lot harder than they already are.

Michael is a healthcare business, marketing, communications strategist, and thought leader. As an internationally followed healthcare strategy blogger, his blog, Healthcare Marketing Matters, is read in 52 countries and is listed on the 100 Top Healthcare Marketing Blogs & Websites ranked at No. 3 on the list by Feedspot.com. Michael is a Life Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives. An expert in healthcare marketing strategy, digital marketing, and social media, Michael is in the top 10 percent of social media experts nationwide and is considered an established influencer. For inquiries regarding strategic consulting engagements, you can email me at michael@themichaeljgroup.com. Connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. The opinions expressed are my own.

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