Walgreens, AzPC Team Up for Population Health Management - Analyst Blog

Leading drug retailer Walgreen Co. WAG has entered into a clinical care collaboration agreement with Arizona Priority Care (AzPC) for the purpose of population health management. Per the deal, Walgreens and AzPC pharmacists and practitioners will jointly work toward the improvement of patient care and quality outcomes.

These services will be provided to AzPC Medicare Advantage and ACO members through select Walgreens pharmacies and Healthcare Clinics. According to Walgreens, this program will not only open up access to a bunch of health care services at its select outlets, but will also help reduce overall healthcare costs.

Walgreens and AzPC have teamed up to bring forth a comprehensive range of clinical and preventive health services that will extend clinicians' efforts of providing high-quality population health services backed by the extensive network of Walgreens pharmacy and medication management services.

Some of the collaborative services offered to AzPC members will include medication management schemes like medication therapy management and adherence programs; health risk assessments and health testing including cholesterol and blood pressure; immunizations and patient education and wellness services.

In order to stimulate customer demand amid a challenging macroeconomic scenario, Walgreens has been undertaking a number of strategic steps. These include consistent new alignments. Earlier this month, the company, along with Greater Than AIDS, formed a coalition with health departments and local AIDS service organizations across the country to encourage community members to offer HIV testing.

In Mar 2014, Walgreens tied up with Lebhar-Friedman Publishing to launch Discover Beauty Within, the first exclusive beauty publication for mass retailers. The publication is focused on providing Walgreens and Duane Reade store customers with timely editorial content and valuable coupons on behalf of the retailers' merchandising partners. Prior to that, in Jan 2014, Walgreens had entered into a clinical collaboration agreement with Centura Health, a leading health care network in the U.S. to provide easier and wider access to healthcare services.

With the Affordable Care Act bringing millions of newly insured patients into the health care system, such relationships aim to help address some of the needs and challenges faced by both patients and caregivers. These recent endeavors are expected to create a competitive edge for the company in the fast-growing pharmacy retailing market, going forward.The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Other Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the broader medical sector can consider stocks like Accuray Incorporated ARAY, Masimo Corporation MASI and Natus Medical Inc. BABY. All the three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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