Since Richard Gilfillan, M.D., left his post as director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center last June to become CEO of newly merged CHE Trinity Health, the healthcare systems has made several strategic moves to align itself with changes driven by healthcare reform. The latest came this week when it announced a deal with Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, to collaborate on clinical care and population health initiatives.

According to the Livonia, Michigan-based healthcare system, its agreement with Walgreens will allow it to better oversee the health of patients across the care continuum for improved population health. Instead of competing with Walgreens in offering the types of simpler outpatient care services that are beginning to migrate from physician offices to low-cost clinics inside pharmacies, Walgreens and CHE Trinity will collaborate on providing high-quality outpatient services at Walgreens nurse practitioner and pharmacist staffed healthcare clinics.

While this could initially mean some loss of outpatient business for CHE Trinity, it may also lead to Walgreens pharmacy clinic patients without primary care providers being more likely to go to a CHE Trinity provider when they develop a need for office-based primary care or specialty services. In addition, Walgreens and CHE Trinity will be able to better share information about patient adherence to care plans, particularly such key factors as the filling of prescriptions and medication adherence. The two organizations also announced that they plan to measure patient outcomes and refine clinical care approaches in order to improve community health.

“This collaboration is based on our organizations’ mutual commitment to serve people at every intersection of their health and wellness needs,” stated Scott Nordlund, CHE Trinity’s executive vice president of growth, strategy and innovation, in a press release. "Transformative ideas for improving care are central to our mission at CHE Trinity Health, so we are pleased to join with Walgreens to introduce new and better strategies for health and wellness throughout our communities."

Since last May when CHE Trinity Health was formed out of the merger of Trinity Health and Catholic Health East, the health system has made a concerted effort to expand. It is currently one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the United States with 86 hospitals, 109 continuing care facilities and home health and hospice programs, and annual operating revenues of about $13.3 billion. In addition, just earlier this month, it announced that it would partner with 14-hospital Ascension Health Michigan in Warren, Michigan, to create a new company — Together Health Network LLC — that will be a clinically integrated network of 27 hospitals, more than 12 physician organizations and 5,000 physicians.

Walgreens is the nation’s largest drugstore chain, with 8,209 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. CHE Trinity is currently operating in 20 states.