A timeline of key Walgreens moves in 2020, as reported by Becker’s Hospital Review:
Jan. 6: Walgreens hires Kevin Ban, MD, former CMO for athenahealth, to serve as its new CMO.
Jan. 29: Walgreens says it will open its first “health corners” in stores in January, roughly a year after striking a partnership with Microsoft to create the pharmacy of the future.
Feb. 6: Walgreens names Richard Ashworth, PharmD, a 28-year veteran of the company, as its new president.
March 9: Walgreens expands its partnership with delivery service company Postmates to allow it to deliver over-the-counter drugs and other Walgreens products to 13 more cities.
March 13: Both Walgreens and CVS say they plan to conduct COVID-19 tests in parking lots outside their stores.
March 24: Walgreens begins hiring more than 9,500 full-time, part-time and temporary workers in its stores across the country as part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
April 9: Walgreens adds new telehealth providers and a COVID-19 risk assessment tool to its Find Care platform to help coordinate care for patients during the pandemic.
May 26: Walgreens President Richard Ashworth, PharmD, leaves the company to become CEO of Tivity Health, a health and fitness company based in Nashville, Tenn.
June 30: Walgreens Boots Alliance, Microsoft and Adobe launch a digital offering for personalized healthcare and shopping.
July 8: Walgreens Boots Alliance invests $1 billion in VillageMD to add full-service primary care physician offices and telehealth services to hundreds of locations in the U.S.
July 16: Walgreens partners with DoorDash to offer delivery services in select cities.
July 21: Walgreens Boots Alliance brings Mike Maresca onto its leadership team as chief technology officer.
July 27: Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Stefano Pessina decides to step down from his role.
Aug. 31: Walgreens names former Rite Aid CEO John Standley as its new president.
Sept. 17: Walgreens launches the Walgreens Test & Protect program, designed to aid businesses in their COVID-19 work plans and strategies.
Oct. 16: Walgreens and CVS Health partner with Operation Warp Speed, the White House task force to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, to administer the vaccines to high-priority groups at long-term care facilities.
Nov. 19: Walgreens reinvents its customer loyalty program and mobile app, offering customers more delivery options, faster pickups, increased rewards and a new suite of health and wellness services.
Dec. 3: Walgreens launches the Walgreens Advertising Group, a media group focused on maximizing return on investment by extracting personalized insights from first-party data.
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