Walgreens, VillageMD To Open 29 Texas Primary Care Practices

Walgreens Boots Alliance and VillageMD will open 29 new Village Medical at Walgreens practices in Houston, Austin and El Paso this year, the companies announced Thursday (July 8).

The companies plan to open at least 600 Village Medical at Walgreens outposts in more than 30 U.S. cities and towns in the next four years and hundreds more locations after reaching that goal as part of a $1 billion accelerated investment announced in January.

That expansion will bring Village Medical primary care physicians and Walgreens pharmacy services together under an integrated care umbrella.

“This strategic partnership between Walgreens and VillageMD demonstrates our continuing commitment to the care and well-being of our patients, and we’re excited to expand our primary care and pharmacy service offerings in Texas,” said Jamie Vortherms, vice president of healthcare services at Walgreens. “With the opening of these Village Medical at Walgreens locations, we’re providing convenient access to personalized, high quality and coordinated care.”

Through the partnership, Village MD will be offering patients access to primary care clinics at 500 to 700 Walgreens stores in 30 underserved U.S. markets.

“With Village Medical primary care services and Walgreens pharmacy services delivered through an integrated care model, we’re facilitating regular and direct communication with patients, helping deliver improved health outcomes and affordable care,” said Clive Fields, M.D., co-founder and chief medical officer of VillageMD. “We’re pleased to expand these offerings in Texas so residents can manage their chronic conditions and focus on being healthy, active members of their community.”

Tim Barry, co-founder and CEO of VillageMD, told Karen Webster last year that better chronic care condition management means that providers need to be in constant touch with their patients. That contact is made more accessible through Walgreens locations as a touchpoint, he said.

Those improvements, and the healthier patients they create, will, over the long term, lower the cost of healthcare for everyone, Barry told Webster.

VillageMD is looking into an initial public offering that could fetch as much as $1 billion and value the company at as much as $10 billion, according to Bloomberg.