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Rick Gates, Senior Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer, Walgreens
2024 was a pivotal year for the health care industry, and particularly across pharmacy. At Walgreens, we continued to build upon our strong foundation as the trusted, convenient front door into health care for communities across the country. This means strengthening our capabilities to become the leading omnichannel pharmacy provider, removing barriers for pharmacists to deliver a more personalized patient experience, and leading the ongoing dialogue surrounding the importance of reimbursement reform for the future of pharmacy. Our work is rooted in the fundamental belief that local, accessible care is in high demand now more than ever.
In 2025, Americans’ demand for more accessibility and transparency in health care will increase, along with demand for better, more convenient health services when and where they need it. With 80% of Americans wanting more health services available at their local pharmacy, and 90% of people over the age of 65 having at least one chronic condition, we are responding to consumer demand by offering additional health services such as vaccinations, screenings, and test and treat.
Reimbursement reform: Building fair and sustainable models for the future
Reimbursement reform remains a critical area priority for us as the current economic model fails to compensate for the high value impact community pharmacies make in patient care. Almost 60% of Americans are likely to visit a local pharmacy as the first step for a non-emergency medical issue. They see their pharmacist twice as often as any other health care provider, and people with Medicare see them eight times as often. We know that pharmacists play a crucial role in health care, yet the current reimbursement model does not reflect this and, without change, this will impact patients’ access to care.
That change starts at the local level. Our partnerships with pharmacy school deans through the Deans Advisory Council, which we stood up to enhance the pharmacy profession, are creating consistent dialogues with legislators in championing initiatives to stabilize and clarify reimbursement structures, emphasizing fair pricing and recognizing pharmacists’ important role in the health care ecosystem.
Heading into next year, we expect the industry will make progress toward policy changes that prioritize transparency and equitable payment models. These efforts aim to ensure financial viability and safeguard 0access to community-based pharmacies, particularly in underserved areas.
Meeting patients where they are
We saw a proliferation of digital-forward tools and models over the past few years. This was brought on by consumers no longer accepting the status quo — lack of choice, convenient care — as well as changes in demand. We will continue to see a desire for more flexibility and convenience, which is why Walgreens is focused on being the leading omnichannel pharmacy provider, able to meet consumers when and where they need it. From the mom who is managing her daughter’s antibiotics to get immediate relief, to those who manage over 70 prescriptions, having the ability to manage your experience at your fingertips while having the face-to-face support in medication management is critical to ensure adherence and improving overall health outcomes.
Additionally, our investments in the patient experience will further streamline operations and bring pharmacists to the forefront of care. For example, we introduced a new global scheduler this fall, a single platform that simplifies the management of appointments on the back-end for our pharmacy team members and offers patients digital check-in capabilities.
Since implementing these initiatives, we’ve seen a 10% increase in appointment conversion rates and a 20% increase in digital VAR (vaccine administration record) from last year. These changes are designed to balance efficiency with the personalized experience that consumers increasingly value.
Elevating the role of pharmacists
The pandemic highlighted pharmacists as one of the most accessible, trusted health care providers. Heading into 2025, the need to continue evolving our practice is top-of-mind. We want to further enable pharmacists to practice at the top of their license, address labor shortages, and encourage community pharmacy as a practice setting of choice. We continue to invest in innovative technologies, including micro-fulfillment centers and centralized services, to streamline operations and give our pharmacists more time to focus on what they do best: providing personalized care to our customers.
For example, Walgreens has shown that pharmacist-led models can achieve adherence rates as high as 60% for complex chronic conditions, and specialty pharmacy adherence rates exceed 80%, significantly surpassing industry averages. By ensuring patients stick to their therapies, Walgreens helps reduce hospitalizations by up to 50%, saving payors significant costs and improving patient outcomes.
With over 9 million daily interactions, Walgreens’ ability to leverage its extensive reach, robust data and trusted relationships positions it as a leader in community pharmacy. These strengths, combined with its commitment to innovation and personalized care, ensure Walgreens is not only leading in delivering care across communities but also thriving in shaping the future of pharmacy.
Len ShankmanSenior VP and President, Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness, CVS Health
With more than 9,000 locations across the U.S., CVS Pharmacy is America’s best run retail pharmacy, with unmatched patient engagement and consumer trust. Our stores and pharmacies serve as community health and wellness destinations and offer pharmacy care that’s accessible, convenient and relied upon by millions of people every day.
To ensure we’re continuing to meet our customers’ and patients’ distinct and changing needs, we’re working to make health care simpler. This year, a top priority is elevating simplicity, convenience and value for CVS Pharmacy customers.
We’re pushing ourselves to innovate, to think differently and to move faster, and to deepen our relationships with customers. We know people trust CVS Pharmacy, and we’re focused on making it as easy as possible for them to access our products and services, whether in-store or online.
With savings on the minds of many, the Extra Big Deals bi-weekly savings program will continue to bring value to customers this year, as will a robust calendar of events, like the increasingly popular Welcome to Wellness and Epic Beauty sales.
Our ExtraCare loyalty program is our customers’ primary savings tool, and we’re continuing to refine and enhance the benefits it offers members. Enrollment has grown in recent months, thanks in part to the expansion of Buy Online, Pickup In-Store across our entire fleet; free same-day delivery for ExtraCare+ members; and an enhanced Rewards at the Pharmacy program, with patients earning rewards faster than ever before.
Delivering a thoughtfully curated assortment of products that meet the unique health and wellness needs of consumers is always top of mind. We’re continuing to innovate within private label by adding products to our new consumables brand, Well Market, and incorporating new products from leading health and beauty brands to respond to consumer trends.
Also a priority in 2025: a continued focus on digital innovation to help meet our patients’ needs and transforming the way pharmacy care is delivered through omnichannel offerings.
Our omnichannel experiences enable self-service, optimize convenience, and offer flexibility across our front store and pharmacy. Technologies like the CVS Pharmacy app are allowing patients to manage simple tasks — like refilling prescriptions or checking prescription status — on their own, freeing up our pharmacy teams to focus on clinical work.
We use technology, including robotics and automation, to assist in the filling of prescriptions. We’ve also implemented a new phone system which offers patients our digital channels and a new patient voicemail for assistance. The goal is to help patients avoid having to unnecessarily wait on hold and to improve our pharmacy teams’ ability to provide excellent service to patients in-store and on the phone.
Ongoing improvements to support pharmacist workflow are helping pharmacists and technicians spend more time with patients by reducing administrative, non-clinical tasks and time spent on the phone.
To support omnichannel growth and fulfillment efficiency across the whole store, we’re working to stabilize, modernize and optimize our supply chain and logistics channels. Through operational excellence and select investments in technology and automation, we’re focused on enhancing our distribution model. The end goal is transforming our supply chain and operations to create simplicity and ensure our workforce, process and technology complement each other.
We’re also strategically investing in our colleagues because they’re our biggest differentiator and the heart of our business. This includes innovations that optimize workflow and workload to increase efficiency and capacity. We’ve also invested in wages, benefits and training. And store-based colleagues can access cross-training, pharmacy tuition reimbursement and scholarship programs.
With innovations and investments like these in place that support our people, stores, pharmacies and customers, we plan to be in local communities, meeting consumers where they are, for years to come.
Brad Cochran, Executive Vice President, Pharmaceutical and Specialty Distribution, Cardinal Health, and President, The Medicine Shoppe International Inc.
Community independent pharmacies continue to face significant reimbursement and cash flow headwinds. Despite these challenges, pharmacies remain as resilient as ever, adjusting their business models, innovating to implement new services and seeking out new partnerships with providers in their communities. As we look to the future of retail pharmacy, Cardinal Health remains centered on support for our Medicap Pharmacy and The Medicine Shoppe franchisees and all independent pharmacy customers, offering education, driving meaningful change through industry advocacy, and providing solutions that enable them to maximize their clinical services and expand into new revenue-generating opportunities.
Cardinal Health has partnered with the National Community Pharmacy Association (NCPA) since 2008 to publish the NCPA Digest, a comprehensive analysis of the current state of independent community pharmacy. The 2024 Digest highlights several ways in which community pharmacies are adding medication-related services to increase access to higher quality of care and bring in new revenue beyond script fills.
The data in the 2024 Digest shows that immunizations continue to lead all other clinical services, with more than 90% of community independent pharmacies offering both flu and non-flu vaccinations. To support this trend and help franchisees grow their programs, we have enhanced our immunization services with more resources that will enable pharmacies to offer immunization programs year-round. Our Clinical Immunization Hub offers clinical resources, operational templates, marketing assets and training programs. We have expanded our library of continuing education courses for both pharmacists and technicians to offer express courses featuring disease-specific immunization information, as well as more in-depth courses on point-of-care test and treat training. We have also launched a monthly toolkit with collateral materials, ideas and thought starters designed to help pharmacies at all stages of immunization program development and across varying scopes of practice to amplify the promotion of their services.
By 2040, the number of elderly patients is expected to reach 80 million and will represent nearly one-quarter of the U.S. population, according to the National Council on Aging. As the number of older patients continues to increase, so too will their long-term care (LTC) needs.
Cardinal Health offers Medicap Pharmacy and The Medicine Shoppe franchisees and independent pharmacy customers products and solutions for more personalized services to support the needs of older patients. Our Dispill-USA medication compliance packaging helps older patients and their caregivers more easily manage their medications with multi-dose, color-coded blister card packaging. We have recently introduced a new blister card to accommodate larger pills and provide additional space for more medications, reducing the number of cards needed per patient, lowering the cost for pharmacies and improving medication adherence. We have also translated our in-store marketing materials into Spanish to help pharmacies support non-English speaking patients.
For these enhanced clinical services to translate into viable new revenue streams for pharmacies, they must be able to bill a patient’s medical benefit to receive reimbursement, which can create additional workload and layers of complexity. We have enhanced our Cardinal Health Medical Benefit Billing solution to allow pharmacies to track and bill claims for medical services and durable medical equipment in real time. This solution integrates with Central Pay and the Cardinal Health Reconciliation Portal, providing greater visibility, time savings and flexibility for more than 30 different clinical services.
Beyond navigating workflow challenges, limitations to pharmacy scope of practice present another potential obstacle to adding new revenue streams. Pharmacy laws vary from state to state, prohibiting some pharmacies from administering immunizations or restricting which patients are eligible. Cardinal Health, along with our industry partners, continues to advocate for the expansion of pharmacy scope of practice. In 2024, we publicly supported bills in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey to expand the eligible patient population that pharmacists can immunize. Cardinal Health actively engages with practicing pharmacists, offering opportunities to help foster innovation and best practice sharing. Through our clinical innovation panel, we frequently connect with pharmacies pioneering new services, consulting with these industry leaders to share their knowledge and develop new solutions. During our Retail Business Conference, we featured panel discussions with clinical innovators sharing their successes in functional medicine, women’s health and anti-aging programs
Claire Biermaas, President, Corporate Partnerships, Cencora
2024 was a year of ambitious growth and remarkable achievements for the Corporate Partnerships team at Cencora. During my first full year in the role, we set very high targets and, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our team and partners across the organization, we surpassed them. As of today, our team proudly supports about 20 of our largest, most strategic customers in the U.S.
This year we emphasized serving our customers efficiently while maintaining a high-touch model that has become our hallmark. This included introducing a new segmentation model to align our resources more effectively with our customers' unique needs and industry roles. While there are many benefits to this approach, it most notably enabled us to capitalize on growth opportunities and secure significant new business targets. This year, we were pleased to welcome new customers and secure renewals with major clients including some of the nation’s largest pharmacies, both mail-order and brick-and-mortar locations. These successes wouldn’t have been possible without the collaborative efforts across our organization.
As we step into 2025, the healthcare industry is poised for significant transformation. Reflecting on our journey and achievements in the past year, I am both proud and optimistic about what lies ahead for Cencora and our partners. Our focus remains steadfast on delivering unparalleled product access and value-driven, customized solutions that align with our customers' strategic priorities.
Engaging customers
Looking to next year, we are optimistic about the growth opportunities ahead. We will continue to invest in the core customer experience, ensuring that our resources align with our customers' needs. Deep listening and understanding of our customers' businesses and market dynamics are crucial.
The health care industry continues to contend with significant pressures from changing consumer habits, reimbursement challenges and an ever-evolving regulatory landscape. Staying close to our customers and collaborating with them to navigate these pressures is crucial. This approach not only helps us retain existing customers but also opens doors to new strategic partnership opportunities.
As with any change following an election, we expect substantial shifts in federal public policy next year. It will be essential to assist our customers in mitigating financial risks and regulatory impacts. This includes helping to address the evolving biosimilar landscape, the rapid growth of cell and gene therapies and GLP-1s, while staying informed about changes to the Inflation Reduction Act that could affect our customers.
We’re also engaging customers by leveraging our internal resources to truly understand their needs and what they want to achieve. This insight allows us to develop innovative solutions that drive their strategic goals, ensuring that we remain a trusted partner in their success.
Digital investments in customer experience
We are also investing in tools that enhance our customers' ability to manage their contracts and business operations. Providing real-time dashboards and insights will help our customers make better business decisions. These tools are not meant to replace human interaction but to add another layer to our relationship with our customers.
The Corporate Partnerships team is partnering closely with our supply chain experts at Cencora to develop solutions that help to ensure an efficient and effective process of getting the medications to the right place at the right time. Our team is particularly excited about the work we’re doing to empower customers to proactively identify potential supply chain risks, foster improved communication and collaboration with suppliers, and inform robust risk mitigation strategies. In the face of unforeseen events, this solution enables rapid response through real-time analytics and the implementation of contingency plans for agile decision-making and adaptation. Ultimately these efforts lead to enhanced supply chain resiliency, ensuring increased product availability, elevated customer service levels and timely deliveries for our customers and their patients.
In addition, Cencora has invested considerable resources to implement technology and processes that ensure the authenticity and traceability of all pharmaceutical products within our systems. Despite the FDA’s recent announcement that it will offer extensions for the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), our technological investments have and will continue to show their value as our customers continue to work toward meeting DSCSA requirements.
Looking ahead
Supporting the corporate partnerships team requires a collective effort. I am immensely grateful to the functional and operational support teams across Cencora. Hundreds, if not thousands, of team members interact with and support our customers daily. Their dedication is not only impressive but also moving. Continued collaboration and excellence in internal processes are essential to our success.
I remain confident in our team's ability to achieve our goals in the new year. Together, we will deliver value-driven, customized solutions that align with our customers' strategic priorities and contribute to better patient outcomes.
Heather Zenk, President, U.S. Supply Chain, Cencora
As we reflect on the past year, I’m proud that Cencora continues to be at the forefront of navigating the global supply chain, its complexities and the geopolitical developments that impact access to essential medications. In today’s rapidly changing environment, the ability to swiftly adapt – or even transform – our operations is paramount to ensuring patients who need life-saving medications get them quickly and efficiently. The ability to foresee and address challenges is more critical than ever to protecting our businesses and the customers we serve.
In 2024, we continued to support retail pharmacy customers by navigating market challenges, scaling our business and leveraging innovative technologies and solutions to drive growth and improve operational efficiency. As a distributor, we see ourselves as a true extension of our retail pharmacy customer teams – we work to maintain a deep understanding of their businesses, while keeping a collaborative open-line of communication that provides on-the-ground insights and perspectives. Through this collaborative approach, we aim to produce more accurate and effective solutions that ultimately provide real value to the communities we are collectively working to serve. Unlocking value is the essential element of a truly resilient pharmaceutical supply chain.
Looking ahead to 2025, we will continue to prioritize technological advancements to help keep the supply chain healthy and advance efficiency, optimize services, boost productivity and streamline order consolidation. We’re also keeping a close eye on and preparing for possible policy changes following the 2024 presidential election, as well as the continuing increase in severe weather events, both of which can – and will – impact the way we operate to serve our customers.
Commitment to technology advancements
At Cencora, our commitment to advancing technology is unwavering. These innovations make us more efficient, enabling us to better serve our customers, expand capacity and strengthen our infrastructure to better anticipate and respond to disruptions. By leveraging advanced technologies, including the potential uses of AI and cutting-edge warehouse management systems, we place the customer at the center of every decision we make. Every improvement we implement ultimately benefits our customers, enhancing their experience and ensuring we meet their needs with precision and care.
The focus on technology does not merely enhance our operational metrics, it transforms the entire supply chain landscape. For example, our warehouse management systems are equipped to handle high volumes with remarkable efficiency. The incorporation of AI allows us to predict trends and respond rapidly to market changes, ensuring customers can receive their medications without interruption.
Additionally, our commitment to technology is evident in our compliance efforts with the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA). For more than a decade, Cencora has been committed to facilitating a seamless transition to comply with its requirements. We have dedicated significant time, resources and financial investments to deploy technology and processes that safeguard authenticity and traceability for all pharmaceutical products that move through our systems, helping ensure that no medication goes unaccounted for. Despite the FDA’s recent announcement that it will offer extensions across the industry, we remain committed to supporting trading partners in keeping their pace as they work toward meeting DSCSA requirements.
Preparing for policy changes
As with any change following an election, we anticipate substantial shifts in federal public policy next year. A strong focus on strengthening domestic manufacturing and resolving supply chain bottlenecks through deregulation and incentives for U.S.-based production is expected.
Most notably, the impending implementation of upper payment limits on drug pricing has already ignited a wave of litigation, particularly at a state level. These legal battles are set to significantly shape the legislative landscape, influencing how states will approach and enforce drug pricing regulations. The outcome of these cases – alongside the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act – will set a precedent that could either empower or limit federal and state governments in their efforts to control healthcare costs and increase patient engagement in negotiation. Regardless of the outcomes, the healthcare industry must prepare for a transformative period that could redefine cost containment and access to essential medications.
Navigating extreme weather before it strikes
While it’s true that the scale and impact of weather-related incidents can often be hard to predict, there are a number of steps we’re taking to mitigate any supply chain disruptions. Many of the steps needed to ensure a smooth and effective supply chain during times of crisis are rooted in collaboration. For example, we prioritize connecting with customers in the path of extreme weather before it hits to understand their needs, and when appropriate, provide increased inventory to ensure medications are available for patients.
Collaboration with integral government partners and organizations who are on-the-ground is also key in times of natural disasters. When extreme weather strikes, connecting with groups such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), local officials and nonprofits like Healthcare Ready, allow us to gain access to areas of disaster and ship medical supplies and products without delay to these regions.
Looking ahead
While there are a number of variables that may impact or cause widespread supply chain disruptions, Cencora will continue to remain agile and prepared. Supply chain resilience is a core tenet of our 2025 strategy, driving our focus on rapid responsiveness and the ability to forecast and mitigate operational disruptions, regardless of market dynamics or evolving policy landscape. We will also continue to prioritize team member engagement, which is a key element in our supply chain resiliency strategy.
With our proactive approach, we continue to be a trusted partner in delivering essential medications and supporting the growth and success of our customers, all while keeping their health and safety at the center of our mission.
Crystal Lennartz, President, Health Mart and Health Mart Atlas
Community pharmacy serves as the front door to health care. Despite facing significant challenges — including evolving reimbursement models, rising expenses and shifting consumer behaviors — the need for community pharmacies has never been more apparent. As the population ages, prescription volume increases and chronic conditions become more prevalent, pharmacies play a vital role in the lives of patients, offering convenient health care solutions in the heart of the communities they serve. As we look ahead to 2025, Health Mart and Health Mart Atlas are dedicated to strengthening the health of independent pharmacies and elevating the role they play in people’s lives with the tools and resources to help them thrive in this dynamic health care environment.
Focus on revenue diversification and patient care
The path to sustainability and success for community pharmacies in 2025 lies in their ability to evolve and innovate. As one of the nation’s largest networks of more than 4,500 high-performing independent pharmacies, Health Mart is investing in tools and solutions to help our pharmacies operate efficiently, add sustainable clinical services and maximize margins.
We recently reintroduced Health Mart Perks, which offers Health Mart member pharmacies exclusive access to trusted vendors at discounts up to 70% for products and services that support business operations such as script delivery, compounding services, advertising, printing and shipping, and technology services, among others. Additionally, we added more than a dozen new partners to our perks lineup last year.
A majority of our Health Mart pharmacies are uniquely positioned in underserved communities, including over 800 locations where they are the only pharmacy in the ZIP code. This creates the opportunity for pharmacies to expand care and diversify revenue at the same time. Health Mart and Health Mart Atlas, McKesson’s pharmacy services administrative organization (PSAO), continue to help support pharmacies in expansion of services including immunizations, medication therapy management and test to treat, along with appropriate reimbursement for the services provided. We anticipate that we’ll continue to see growth in pharmacist-provided services in 2025.
Optimize financial health
As the reimbursement landscape will likely continue to evolve in 2025, it’s critical for independent pharmacies to have a partner who can help them understand the shifts and most importantly, get every dollar they’re owed for the care they provide patients. Through Health Mart Atlas, we’re able to monitor reimbursement, effective rates and pharmacy performance to provide better transparency and reporting to pharmacies.
Additionally, McKesson’s ProviderPay reconciliation solution helps pharmacies effectively manage their cash flow and pursue unpaid claims, to help capture every dollar earned. Last year, we introduced enhancements to ProviderPay, including a quick-view feature for key revenue cycle elements and customizable reporting options for greater flexibility.
Amplify advocacy efforts
The key to long-term success for retail pharmacies lies in provider status. We’ve made strides in this area, particularly at the state level, but we must expand our efforts. In 2025, McKesson has committed to awarding dedicated funding to eligible state pharmacy associations across all 50 states to help meet association advocacy goals through McKesson Amplify.
