Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA), Inc. WBA and Village MD recently announced plans to open eight new Village Medical at Walgreens primary care and pharmacy practices in the Tucson area in 2022. These openings represent expansion into the second major market in Arizona, following Phoenix.
It is worth noting that the Village Medical at Walgreens locations in the Tucson area will employ 140 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) professionals. This is expected to create 285 full-time jobs.
Further, Walgreens and VillageMD plan to open more than 200 Village Medical at Walgreens practices by 2020-end, including 81 locations that have already opened across 11 markets in Arizona, Florida, Texas, Kentucky and Indiana.
Enhanced Accessibility to Primary Care
Through the Walgreens and VillageMD coordinated care model, patients get care for chronic health conditions as well as preventive services and treatment for everyday illnesses and injuries. Physicians and pharmacists will work closely to fill prescriptions immediately following medical visits, frequently at the same location, and ensure patients have ongoing access, helping them stay healthy.
Patients who require care for chronic health conditions will benefit from the collaboration between the primary care and pharmacy teams in the Tucson area, as Walgreens’ pharmacists will help ensure patients have continuous access to care and medication support and resources as and when needed. Further, this collaborative approach will enable pharmacy teams to spend more time providing high-quality care for patients and less time on administrative tasks.
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Village Medical at Walgreens locations accepts a wide variety of health insurance options, including Medicaid and Medicare. Patients can seek care and support through in-person, at-home and telehealth visits as well.
Industry Prospects
Per a report published in Future Market Insights, the global value-based healthcare services market is projected to witness a CAGR of 20.9% during 2021-2031. Factors such as the increasing incidence of chronic diseases and greater requirements for high-quality care services are driving the market for value-based healthcare services.
Given these market prospects, the latest plans to open eight new Village Medical at Walgreens primary care practices in the Tucson area seem well-timed.
Recent Developments
In December 2021, Walgreens and Village MD recently announced plans to open nine Village Medical at Walgreens primary care practices in San Antonio over the next year. These openings represent expansion into the fifth major market in Texas, following Houston, El Paso, Austin and Dallas. It is worth noting that the Village Medical at Walgreens locations in San Antonio will employ 380 well-compensated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) professionals.
In November 2021, Walgreens and VillageMD announced plans to open 20 new Village Medical at Walgreens primary care practices in the Tampa area over the next year. The first Village Medical at Walgreens site in Tampa opened on Oct 26 at 6996 U.S. Highway 19 North in Pinellas Park, with several more locations set to open in early 2022. These openings represent expansion into the second-largest market in Florida, after Orlando.
Price Performance
Shares of the company have gained 12% in a year compared with the industry's rise of 29.6%.
Zacks Rank and Key Picks
Walgreens currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
A few better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space that investors can consider are AMN Healthcare Services (NYSE:AMN), Inc. AMN, Apollo Endosurgery (NASDAQ:APEN), Inc. APEN and Laboratory Corporation of America (NYSE:LH) Holdings LH.
AMN Healthcare, carrying a Zacks Rank #1, has a long-term earnings growth rate of 16.2%. AMN Healthcare surpassed earnings estimates in the trailing four quarters, delivering a surprise of 19.5%, on average.
AMN Healthcare has outperformed its industry over the past year. AMN has gained 28.7% versus the 60.3% industry decline.
Apollo Endosurgery, carrying a Zacks Rank #1, has a long-term earnings growth rate of 7%. Apollo Endosurgery’s earnings surpassed estimates in the trailing four quarters, delivering a surprise of 25.6%, on average.
Apollo Endosurgery has outperformed its industry in the past year. APEN has gained 27% versus the industry’s 6.9% fall.
Laboratory Corporation surpassed earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 25.7%. Laboratory Corporation currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.
Laboratory Corporation’s long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 10.6%. The company’s earnings yield of 9.4% compares favorably with the industry’s 3.4%.
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Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH): Free Stock Analysis Report
AMN Healthcare Services (NASDAQ:HCSG) Inc (AMN): Free Stock Analysis Report
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA): Free Stock Analysis Report
Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. (APEN): Free Stock Analysis Report
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