Tag: primary care

Unsatisfied Patients Turn to the Internet

Posted on by Jason Barry

According to a new study from the AHIMA Foundation and Kelton Global, there is a large disconnect between the information shared by doctors and their patients’ understanding of it.

This communication breakdown leaves patients confused about how to proceed, prompting many to turn to other resources to feel more in control of their health.

  • The survey was distributed to a nationally representative sample of US adults in August 2021 (n=1,059), finding that 76% of Americans “do not leave their doctor’s office on a positive note,” due in part to lacking clear answers to questions (24%) or not having the chance to ask any questions (17%). 
  • After these visits, 62% of Americans are “not extremely confident” in their understanding of information discussed with their doctor, while 15% admit feeling more confused about their health than they did before their appointment.
  • As a result, 80% of Americans research medical recommendations online following an appointment, reporting that they are confident the information on the internet is credible (86%) and that it allows them to feel more confident in their doctor’s recommendations (35%).

The Solution

The researchers conclude that having access to a complete picture of your own health, whether through a doctor’s visit or internet research, is the key to seeing better health outcomes. Most Americans seem to agree, with 81% of survey respondents saying that if they had access to all their health information, such as medical records and test results, they’d see at least one improvement in their health management.

Walgreens Doubles Down on Primary Care

Posted on by Jason Barry

In a move to accelerate its value-based primary care strategy, Walgreens announced that it plans to take an ownership stake in VillageMD with a $5.2b investment.

The investment gives Walgreens a 63% stake in the primary care company, making it “the first national pharmacy chain to offer full-service primary care practices with primary care physicians and pharmacists co-located at its stores all under one roof at a large scale.”

  • The partnership originated with a 2019 pilot program of five co-located primary care practices designed to more closely coordinate care between patients’ physicians and pharmacists. It has since expanded to 52 co-located primary care practices, with plans to have at least 1k “Village Medical at Walgreens” locations by 2027.
  • VillageMD offers same-day appointments with its physician-led teams that include nurses, lab techs, and behavioral health specialists. It also helps physicians transition to risk-based care models, an approach that appears to be working: full-year expected revenue is $1.3b, a sharp increase from $217m in 2017.
  • Walgreens announced a new division called Walgreens Health to house VillageMD and its other clinical services, which includes the recent purchase of a 55% stake in care-at-home company CareCentrix. Walgreens Health’s goal is to provide whole-person healthcare to the 75% of Americans who live within five miles of a Walgreens.

Industry Impact

Retail clinics are quickly becoming a popular pursuit as companies like Walgreens, Walmart, and CVS Health rush to expand their clinical footprints to cater to the growing number of consumers seeking convenient care close to home.

Walgreens stated that it plans to make consumer health a key “growth engine” through partnerships in primary care (VillageMD) and post-acute services (CareCentrix), driving more volume of in-store health products while expanding healthcare access.

Amazon Care is Coming to a City Near You

Posted on by Jason Barry

Amazon is expanding its in-person medical care service to 20 cities by the end of next year, causing many digital primary care providers to begin wondering how much disruption is on the way.

  • What is Amazon Care? The service offers virtual primary care through an app, connecting users to physicians with messages and video in as little as 60 seconds. For in-person care, nurses are dispatched to patients’ homes for tests and treatment, as opposed to patients travelling to an office.

Amazon Care began as an employee-only health service for the company’s own workers, but recently opened up to other US-based employers.

In-person care was originally limited to Washington state, Washington DC, and Baltimore, but is now set to reach Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, and Boston in 2021 – at least according to “three people familiar with the plans” speaking to Business Insider.

  • Is Amazon Care coming to your city in 2022? Yes… as long as you live in Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, Tennessee, New York, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, San Jose, or St. Louis.

Although the expansion announcement might seem as innocuous as a young Jeffrey Bezos telling you he’s starting to sell books on the internet, Amazon’s success in industries ranging from e-commerce to cloud computing suggests that healthcare could be next.

The $3T US healthcare market is notoriously difficult to disrupt, and Amazon Care’s unique approach of sending clinicians to patient homes is an enormous logistical problem, but that might make the company behind 2-day free shipping the best one to solve it. 

Although Amazon’s recent healthcare ventures haven’t had an industry-altering impact, the company has a long history of experimenting, learning lessons from failures, and making a better product down the road. Amazon Care might be that product.

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