Walgreens Chief Medical Officer Discusses Benefit of Pharmacist Interventions in Managing Diabetes and Chronic Conditions at World Research Group Forum

The benefit of pharmacist interventions on clinical outcomes for patients managing diabetes and other chronic diseases was highlighted today by Walgreens (NYSE:WAG) (NASDAQ:WAG) chief medical officer Cheryl Pegus, MD, MPH, a featured speaker at the World Research Group’s Diabetes Prevention and Management Forum for Health Plans and Employers. For the first time publicly, Pegus and Walgreens director of health outcomes & analytics Michael Taitel, PhD, explained how Walgreens “Dimensions” study established that diabetes patients who participated in a disease management program, leveraging face-to-face interactions with a pharmacist, demonstrated high levels of patient engagement (over 90 percent) and significantly improved clinical outcomes. The success of the Dimensions pilot, which was conducted in the workplace, led to the development and rollout of Walgreens innovative Optimal Wellness program, now present in nine markets around the country. The conference was attended by C-level executives, senior vice presidents, medical directors and managers from health plans.

Pegus cited the growing prevalence of diabetes in the U.S., the increasing shortage of primary care physicians, research demonstrating the trust consumers have in their pharmacist and the proven outcomes from the Asheville, North Carolina project — which showcases the value of face-to-face pharmacist interactions — as contributing factors to the development of Walgreens approach and the conception of the Dimensions pilot.

“Chronic disease is arguably the most pressing areas of concern for health care in the United States, and diabetes is one of the most difficult, and most costly, chronic conditions to manage,” Pegus said. “Walgreens recognized that with its unrivaled ability to reach patients where they both work and live, diverse team of 70,000 health care service providers and understanding of the power of face-to-face interactions on health outcomes, we had a unique opportunity to help patients learn how to live healthier and better lives.”

Dimensions launched in 2008 and centered on Walgreens working with employers at worksite pharmacies. Specially trained Walgreens pharmacists provided patients and employees diabetes education at these sites, including initial one-on-one consultations and monthly follow ups. The results of the program showed significant patient improvement, as the percent of participants with combined HbA1C, blood pressure and cholesterol values at clinical guideline goals increased from 11.8 percent to 21.8 percent, an 85 percent improvement. Moreover, at 18 months more than 90 percent of patients stayed engaged in the program. Patients also had exceptionally positive reactions, reporting 100 percent overall satisfaction with the pilot and several patients stating that it had been “life altering.”

The positive results of Dimensions led to the launch of the community-focused Walgreens Optimal Wellness™ program. Launched in January 2010 in nine markets, Optimal Wellness™ serves as an innovative self-care educational program for people with Type 2 diabetes. Building on Dimensions, Optimal Wellness™ also focuses on patient engagement and a personalized approach to adherence and self-management. Optimal Wellness capitalizes on the power of face-to-face interactions with a personal health coach at multiple Walgreens locations through a “hub and spoke” model.

In April of this year, Walgreens partnered with UnitedHealth Group and the YMCA of the USA as a founding partner of the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance (DPCA), a comprehensive collaboration designed to treat and manage diabetes. For this initiative, Walgreens customized many of the Optimal Wellness™ program elements such as diabetes education and behavioral intervention, risk-factor reduction, health promotion and regular examinations for early signs of complications. The DCPA is currently available in six markets in four states.

“The success we have seen so far with Optimal Wellness™ underscores the type of pharmacy, health and wellness initiative that Walgreens is increasingly exploring as we look for innovative ways to help address areas of unmet patient need,” Pegus said. “We are excited to expand this program to additional communities and disease states and build on this momentum to continue leveraging our broad offerings.”

About Walgreens

Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) is the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2010 sales of $67 billion. The company operates 7,650 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each day, Walgreens provides nearly 6 million customers the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with pharmacy benefit solutions and respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. Walgreens Take Care Health Systems subsidiary is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the country.

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