Main Library
At the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Total Store Expo (TSE) in Boston, Massachusetts, Anita Patel, PharmD, MS, vice president of Pharmacy Services Development at Walgreen Co., and Adam Chesler, PharmD, MBA, senior vice president of strategic initiatives at VillageMD, discussed the necessity of developing coordinated value-based care, as major issues that require coordination, such as rising overall cost of care and a growing elderly population, abound.
Patel began the session by providing an overview of those issues. By 2030, 1 in 5 Americans will be over the age of 65, stretching the capacity of health care professionals. Additionally, 6 in 10 individuals have at least 1 chronic condition, with that number soaring to 95% when shifting analysis to those ages 65 and older. In addition, overall medical debt across the country have risen to about $4 trillion.
Combine these statistics with the fact that only 26% of the population have primary care providers, and “You can see that where the need for care is so much higher, access to care is continuing to drop,” Patel said.