Companies aim to improve health outcomes and lower overall
costs with enhanced digital and retail experiences and an
R&D commitment to build health care solutions through
seven-year agreement
DEERFIELD, Illinois, and
REDMOND, Washington, Jan. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Walgreens Boots
Alliance Inc. (WBA) and Microsoft Corp. have joined forces to
develop new health care delivery models, technology and retail
innovations to advance and improve the future of health care. The
companies will combine the power of Microsoft Azure, Microsoft's
cloud and AI platform, health care investments, and new retail
solutions with WBA's customer reach, convenient locations,
outpatient health care services and industry expertise to make
health care delivery more personal, affordable and accessible for
people around the world.
Current health care systems are a complex combination of public-
and private-sector organizations, providers, payors, pharmaceutical
companies and other adjacent players. While there has been
innovation in pockets of health care, there is both a need and an
opportunity to fully integrate the system, ultimately making health
care more convenient to people through data-driven insights. This
is what brought WBA and Microsoft together. Through this strategic
partnership, the companies will deliver innovative platforms that
enable next-generation health networks, integrated digital-physical
experiences and care management solutions.
"Improving health outcomes while lowering the cost of care
is a complex challenge that requires broad collaboration and strong
partnership between the health care and tech industries," said
Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft.
"Together with Walgreens Boots Alliance, we aim to deliver on this
promise by putting people at the center of their health and
wellness, combining the power of the Azure cloud and AI technology
and Microsoft 365 with Walgreens Boots Alliance's deep expertise
and commitment to helping communities around the world lead
healthier and happier lives."
As part of the strategic partnership, the companies have
committed to a multiyear research and development (R&D)
investment to build health care solutions, improve health outcomes
and lower the cost of care. This investment will include funding,
subject-matter experts, technology and tools. The companies will
also explore the potential to establish joint innovation centers in
key markets. Additionally, in 2019 WBA will pilot up to 12
store-in-store "digital health corners" aimed at the merchandising
and sale of select health care-related hardware and devices.
"Our strategic partnership with Microsoft demonstrates our
strong commitment to creating integrated, next-generation,
digitally enabled health care delivery solutions for our customers,
transforming our stores into modern neighborhood health
destinations and expanding customer offerings," said Stefano Pessina, executive vice chairman and
chief executive officer of WBA. "WBA will work with Microsoft to
harness the information that exists between payors and health care
providers to leverage, in the interest of patients and with their
consent, our extraordinary network of accessible and convenient
locations to deliver new innovations, greater value and better
health outcomes in health care systems across the world."
Connected, consumer-centric health care delivery
and management platform
The companies will focus on connecting WBA stores and health
information systems to people wherever they are through their
digital devices. This will allow people to access health care
services, such as virtual care — when, where and how they need
it.
The integration of information will enable valuable insights
based on data science and artificial intelligence (AI) that can
allow for fundamental improvements such as supporting the
transition of health care data into more community-based locations
and sustainable transformation in health care delivery.
Working with patients' health care providers, the companies will
proactively engage their patients to improve medication adherence,
reduce emergency room visits and decrease hospital readmissions.
Core to this model is data privacy, security and consent, which
will be fundamental design principles, underscored by Microsoft's
investments in building a trusted cloud platform.
By better connecting people, providers and the systems in which
they work, the industry will be able to provide better quality
patient care.
Personalized health care services
WBA and Microsoft will also focus on enabling more personalized
health care experiences from preventative self-care to chronic
disease management. WBA will pursue lifestyle management solutions
in areas such as nutrition and wellness via customers' delivery
method of choice, including digital devices and digital
applications or in-store expert advice.
Through a combination of dedicated R&D and external
partnerships, a suite of chronic disease management and
patient engagement applications are planned for development,
alongside a portfolio of connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices
for nonacute chronic care management, delivered by Microsoft's
cloud, AI and IoT technologies.
Collaborating with payors, providers and pharmaceutical
manufacturers to implement solutions to improve health outcomes at
lower cost
Additionally, the companies will work to build a seamless
ecosystem of participating organizations to better connect
consumers, providers — including Walgreens and Boots pharmacists —
pharmaceutical manufacturers and payors. Microsoft and WBA will
leverage each other's market research and identify the right
partners to develop solutions.
For example, major health care delivery network participation
will provide the opportunity for people to seamlessly engage in WBA
health care solutions and acute care providers all within a single
platform.
WBA to transition its IT platforms to Microsoft
Through this agreement, Microsoft becomes WBA's strategic cloud
provider, and WBA plans to migrate the majority of the company's IT
infrastructure onto Microsoft Azure. This will include new
transformational platforms in retail, pharmacy and business
services, new capability in data and analytics, as well as certain
legacy applications and systems. The company also plans to roll out
Microsoft 365 to more than 380,000 employees and stores globally,
empowering them with the tools for increased productivity, advanced
security, internal collaboration and customer engagement.
WBA's transition to Microsoft's platform will enable WBA to
accelerate its speed to market, gain deeper customer understanding
and insights, and ultimately provide better and more personalized
care, products and services to its customers and communities. In
addition, the move to Microsoft Azure accelerates the modernization
and cost effectiveness of technology across WBA.
About Walgreens Boots Alliance
Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) is the first global
pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise and the largest
retail pharmacy, health and daily living destination across the
U.S. and Europe. Walgreens Boots
Alliance and the companies in which it has equity method
investments together have a presence in more than 25 countries and
employ more than 415,000 people.
The company's portfolio of retail and business brands
includes Walgreens, Duane Reade,
Boots and Alliance Healthcare, as well as increasingly global
health and beauty product brands, such as No7, Soap & Glory,
Liz Earle, Sleek MakeUP and
Botanics.
Walgreens Boots Alliance is proud to be a force for good,
leveraging many decades of experience and its international scale,
to care for people and the planet through numerous social
responsibility and sustainability initiatives that have an impact
on the health and wellbeing of millions of people.
More company information is available at
www.walgreensbootsalliance.com.
(WBA-GEN)
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital
transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an
intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every
organization on the planet to achieve more.
All statements in this release that are not historical are
forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties,
including, but not limited to, those related to the timing and
effectiveness of collaboration plans, the ability to realize the
anticipated benefits of the collaboration, competitive actions in
the marketplace, and the ability to achieve anticipated financial
and operating results in the amounts and at the times anticipated,
as well as those described in Item 1A (Risk Factors) of Walgreens
Boots Alliance, Inc.'s Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended
August 31, 2018, Microsoft
Corporation's Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2018 and subsequent documents that
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation file or
furnish with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or
more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should
underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary
materially. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the
date they are made. Except to the extent required by law, each of
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation does not
undertake, and expressly disclaims, any duty or obligation to
update publicly any forward-looking statement after the date of
this release, whether as a result of new information, future
events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.
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