Both retail giants now have clinical trial businesses as Walgreens announces its entrance into the clinical trial space. But CVS can use Aetna to tap millions of additional patients.

Is CVS Health turning into a primary care behemoth? The company’s new virtual primary care service fits into CVS’ goal of becoming a preferred healthcare destination for millions of consumers.

On today's episode, we discuss what technology physicians use in their personal and professional lives, how it might help with an expected physician shortage, and the share of Americans getting their medical advice from social media. "In Other News," we talk about a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation into pharmacy benefit managers over rising drug costs and what to make of CVS Health's new virtual care solution. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Lisa Phillips and Rajiv Leventhal.

Carbon Health launched a low-cost diabetes program. We unpack why transparent prices alone won’t be enough to keep up with CVS’ expanding clinics.

CVS revealed a $1B plan to close 900 retail stores and add primary care services to the remaining—we unpack why consumers are flocking to retail health and what CVS and Walgreens are doing to gain their trust.

In a February 2022 interview with the National Retail Federation, Brenda Lord, vice president of store brands and quality assurance at CVS, revealed that the retailer’s store brands—largely under the CVS Health banner—are the No. 1 brands in 14 out of 18 categories. In-house brands make up about 25% of sales and account for about 7,000 items, she said.

The company’s partnerships include big-name players like CVS Health, Humana, and Kaiser Permanente. Established stakeholders will need to invest even more in SDOH collaborations, particularly as new-age primary care disruptors emerge with business models tailored around value-based care and addressing social needs.

It’s also possible that a retail pharmacy chain like CVS Health (market cap of nearly $140 billion) will build a metaverse to combine its primary care and prescription drug services with some branded games and promotions for its front-of-store items. So, it’s not a sci-fi fantasy to imagine that someday your avatar could walk into a digital doctor’s office and get a real physical checkup.

CVS Health, which owns Aetna, has a deal with Teladoc. Our Take: It’s not the service’s name consumers will most likely remember—unless they have a negative experience. The most memorable aspect of their interaction is the quality of care they receive from the telehealth provider. There’s Still a Lot to Do to Make Telehealth Work.

Walmart's partnership with digital health benefits startup Transcarent could elevate Walmart’s healthcare play and bring it head to head with the likes of Amazon and CVS.

We unpack how VillageMD’s aggressive expansion plans and physician-led clinics could spell trouble for retail clinic rivals Walmart and CVS.

CVS last year boosted its hourly wage to $15 an hour, per a company release. Walmart has made several moves over the past year to improve its employer-sponsored digital health benefits. While retailers tend to lay off large swaths of seasonal workers in January, many did not do so this year due to the difficulties attracting and retaining service-sector workers.

Talkspace is in pole position for a major tie-up with a big healthcare player (like CVS, Phillips, or even budding telehealth stakeholders like GoodRx) looking to grow its telemental health footprint.

That helps the legacy payer compete with the likes of CVS’ Aetna, which already offers members access to CVS Health’s rapidly expanding clinics.

CVS and VR pain management startups are already making moves in the healthcare metaverse. Last month, CVS filed to trademark its pharmacy, health clinics, and retail goods in the metaverse. It aims to provide wellness and nutrition coaching in a virtual setting.