Walgreens Data Model Aims to Fix Health Gaps for the Underserved

Walgreens is leveraging customer data to boost equitable access to medicines for diabetes, asthma, and other illnesses as part of a broader industry effort to close the gap in health care for underserved communities.

The company has started using a data tracking model to identify and reach out to people who are most at risk, such as in communities of color or low-income areas. The model enables pharmacists to take a holistic approach to meeting the immediate needs of their customers and identify best practices, according to Michael Taitel, a senior director of health analytics, research & reporting at Walgreens.

“Our purpose is to champion the health and well-being of every community in America, and that doesn’t mean where it’s easy,” he said Wednesday during a webinar on health equity. “It means we need to put in extra effort and partner with communities that are experiencing health disparities.”

Walgreens launched its data tracking model in Chicago, where it’s headquartered, and plans to expand nationwide, according to Taitel.

Pharmaceutical companies have recently put a greater focus on the social determinants of health, such as housing, nutrition, and other nonmedical needs, that have led to adverse impacts on different racial and ethnic communities.

Walgreens executives say the company is focusing its data model on the areas where pharmacies could have the most direct impact on health outcomes and addressing care inequities—asthma, diabetes, and vaccinations.

“Walgreens is taking action to break down these health barriers,” Stacey Emmons, the company’s director of patient outcomes performance and adherence, said. Those steps include “reducing delays and picking up prescriptions, fostering trusted relationships with pediatric asthma patients and their caretakers, as well as performing outreach to help patients living with diabetes,” she said.

Pharmacies are in a key position to improve health outcomes in underserved communities, Emmons added.

“We really believe everyone deserves a fair opportunity to be healthy. We need to go the extra mile and take action to address disparities in health care in communities of color as well as other areas,” Taitel said.

“We’re in a unique position to make a difference and use a proactive approach,” he said. “We have the expertise to help and navigate the social, economic, and environmental obstacles to better their health.”