We’re Opening A New VillageMD Clinic ‘Every Three Days’

Walgreens Boots Alliance is opening a brand new VillageMD clinic connected to a drugstore on common “each three days” this 12 months, the pharmacy chain’s chief govt says.

The most recent replace from Walgreens CEO Roz Brewer on the corporate’s $6 billion funding into VillageMD revealed the opening of doctor-staffed clinics connected to drugstores is transferring swiftly and forward of Wall Avenue’s expectations.

Since Brewer grew to become chief govt officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance a 12 months in the past, the long-lasting drugstore chain invested one other $5.2 billion in VillageMD to escalate the growth of doctor-staffed clinics throughout the U.S. below a brand new “Walgreens Well being” enterprise.

The bigger funding Walgreens made final 12 months was designed to speed up the opening of not less than 600 Village Medical at Walgreens main care practices in additional than 30 U.S. markets by 2025 and 1,000 by 2027, with greater than half of these practices in medically underserved communities, the corporate has stated.

“VillageMD has now opened 102 co-located clinics, and the rollout has accelerated to a median tempo of 1 opening each three days for calendar 12 months 2022,” Brewer advised analysts Thursday on the corporate’s fiscal second quarter earnings name.

The $5.2 billion funding gave Walgreens a 63% stake in VillageMD forward of an preliminary public inventory providing the Chicago-based main care firm plans this 12 months. Walgreens beforehand had a 30% stake in VillageMD, a standalone firm that landed a $1 billion funding from the pharmacy large in 2020.

On Thursday, Walgreens stated the corporate is on observe to have greater than 200 clinics, which embody eight examination rooms with two physicians and different healthcare employees, open by the top of this calendar 12 months. The growth will transfer past the 22 markets VillageMD clinics are in now to new areas that embody “Boston, Massachusetts; Jacksonville, Florida; and Tucson, Arizona in February; Denver, Colorado in January; and San Antonio, Texas in December,” the corporate stated.

“What we’re actually constructing are key relationships, the connection with the patron between the first care doctor and the pharmacist,” Brewer advised analysts.

“And that is the place we’re seeing the best uptick proper now’s in affected person satisfaction and entry to well being care and neighborhood markets,” she added. “So we’ll proceed to take a look at this and take a look at script uplift. However proper now, the main target is de facto on gaining the arrogance and creating new relationships within the market.”