Value-based primary care provider VillageMD has acquired patient education company Healthy Interactions to strengthen patient-provider relationships in chronic care management.
Healthy Interactions’ interactive educational platform offers virtual, in-person and hybrid sessions to help patients manage chronic conditions, including diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure.
The acquisition seeks to boost patient medication adherence while reducing overall costs, results that Healthy Interactions has demonstrated with its previous programs, according to the company.
“Healthy Interactions is unlike any other patient education program we’ve seen, and it fits perfectly within our model of close and connected provider-patient relationships that drive the best clinical outcomes,” said Clive Fields, M.D., VillageMD’s co-founder and chief medical officer, in a statement. “With Healthy Interactions, our clinical leaders in hundreds of Village Medical practices can provide proven programs to engage patients in comfortable, convenient conversations that have demonstrated sustained behavior change.”
Village Medical and Village Medical at Walgreens providers plan to offer the program in 14 markets by the end of 2022, the companies said.
The primary care company previously piloted Healthy Interactions for patients with Type 2 diabetes in Houston.
“Village Medical providers, including physicians and nurse practitioners, can now offer these additional services to their patients,” said Paul Lasiuk, Healthy Interactions CEO. “Healthy Interactions is designed in a way that’s convenient for patients to help improve their behavioral choices, while also easy for providers to recommend and refer.”
VillageMD’s coordinated care model relies on physician-led care teams including pharmacists, nurses, lab techs, behavioral health specialists and other types of providers in its national network aiming to provide each patient with personalized care.
The company’s tech-enabled platform supports 1.6 million patients, with more than 200 in-person clinics across 15 markets.
The company previously stated it expected $1.3 billion in revenue for 2021.
The primary care provider received a whopping $5.2 billion investment from Walgreens in October that increased the retail pharmacy giant’s stake in the company to 63%, up from its previous 30% stake.
Together, the companies have opened more than 80 Village Medical at Walgreens centers across 12 markets including Arizona, Florida, Texas, Kentucky and Indiana. The companies plan to boost that number to 200 practices by the end of this year.
VillageMD remains a standalone company. The primary care provider said last year that it plans to seek an IPO in 2022.