Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., CVS Health Corp. and Walmart Inc. are all expanding further into the healthcare space with rollouts of new technologies backed by a strategy of joined-up care.

Executives from the large retailers joined representatives from pharmaceuticals, healthcare services, technology and government at HLTH 2021 — a four-day conference in Boston discussing the future of health.

Walgreens' appearance at HLTH came less than a week after CEO Rosalind Brewer announced the launch of a new company segment, Walgreens Health, during the company's virtual investor conference. The unit is focused on creating a connected healthcare experience for consumers by utilizing a tech-enabled care platform that can meet consumers' healthcare needs in-store, online or at home, Brewer said.

The pharmacy giant has also made investments in post-acute care company CareCentrix Inc. and primary care provider Village Practice Management Company LLC, giving Walgreens a majority position in both companies.

Walgreens has already opened 40 "health corners" in stores across the U.S., which are staffed with health advisers such as pharmacists or nurses and include a technology bar stocked with wellness and remote patient monitoring devices for consumers. Aside from the physical spaces, Walgreens' health corner initiative also encompasses a mobile app component with medication and appointment reminders, as well as support resources.

The new Walgreens Health segment is designed to bring together several of the company's assets, from digital health to home health and primary care, with the aim of creating seamless care for patients, Walgreens Chief Innovation Officer Vish Sankaran told a HLTH panel Oct. 18.

"From a consumer value perspective, our goal is to really be there with the consumer through their journey from wellness to primary care, specialist care, to pre-acute and into the post-acute space," Sankaran said.

Walgreens Health services are also accessible by over two million people via agreements with two insurers, Sankaran noted. The company is in conversation with six more potential partners for a planned rollout over the next year.

Sree Chaguturu, Chief Medical Officer of CVS' pharmacy benefits manager Caremark, said on a HLTH panel discussion that primary care is also one of his company's goals as it strives to be the "front door to healthcare." Over the past few years, CVS has expanded its business model to install walk-in MinuteClinics in its stores, as well as expanding its digital tools and services.

Other recent innovations have included expanded behavioral health services and a virtual primary care offering through CVS' managed care subsidiary Aetna Inc.

"We need to understand consumers' preferences have changed," Chaguturu said. "They're looking for optionality in a way that helps them get what they need out of their health services in a way that meets their complex life's needs."

Chaguturu pointed to COVID-19 testing as an example of the retailer's "omnichannel care" approach, as customers can get tested for the virus and then connected with a MinuteClinic based on the result.

A more recent player in the wider healthcare services space, Walmart is working to create its own integrated healthcare experience for consumers, Walmart Health Senior Vice President Marcus Osborne told the conference. Just days before the event began, the retail giant announced a partnership with healthcare platform Transcarent Inc. to offer self-insured employers and their employees low-cost pharmaceuticals.

"What has changed is, frankly ... our belief in the areas that we have a right to play and our belief that the consumer wants us to do more for them," said Osborne, adding that the creation of Walmart Health in 2019 and the acquisition of telehealth provider MeMD Inc. in June 2021 represents the company's expansion into areas that it did not think it could be a part of 10 years ago.

At the core of Walmart's strategy is finding ways to address the long-term healthcare needs of consumers rather than just their episodic health needs as they occur, Osborne said.

The intention is that, in five to 10 years, the company will be able to meet all of a customers' healthcare needs, Cheryl Pegus, executive vice president of health and wellness at Walmart, told a HLTH audience. Pegus emphasized the company's commitment to making sure there is trust in the retailer from members of the community who need care seven days a week.

Walmart is forming the right partnerships with other companies to provide this service and wants to see value-based care become the norm in the U.S., said Pegus.

"Healthcare means that from a strategic perspective you provide an integrated experience ... that you're omnichannel, not thinking about you but the consumer and how they'd like to access care, and you're addressing the things that really drive healthcare cost but really impact quality of life and clinical outcomes," Pegus added. "We believe value-based care is the way you get there."