Shields Health Solutions Partners with Major Academic Medical Center to Expand Specialty Pharmacy Services
The Duke Specialty Pharmacy expansion is designed to better support patients through lower costs, broader treatment options, and enhanced medication management. Patients filling their prescriptions at Duke Specialty Pharmacy will receive personalized, patient-centered care, including increased medication adherence, regular follow ups, side effects management, access to financial assistance, and medication delivery. Additionally, Shields' expansive access to payer networks and available drugs will give patients more choice in their specialty pharmacy and allow them to receive services through Duke Specialty Pharmacy.
The Duke Specialty Pharmacy program will bring enhanced operational efficiency and expanded support services, ensuring comprehensive care for patients with complex chronic conditions. Additionally, the program aims to include more patient populations in the future to help expand access to care.
'Our partnership with Duke Health underscores the health system's unwavering commitment to providing superior patient care and differentiated patient experiences,' said Michael Ham, CEO of Shields Health Solutions. 'We look forward to working alongside Duke Health as it expands its specialty pharmacy services and its impact on complex patients in the greater Raleigh – Durham community."
Shields currently partners with nearly 80 health systems around the country, helping patients to reduce co-pays, promptly receive medication delivery, and improve medication adherence.
About Shields Health Solutions
Shields Health Solutions (Shields) is the premier specialty pharmacy accelerator in the country. The Shields Performance Platform, an integrated set of solutions, services and technology, is intentionally designed to elevate payer and drug access for specialty pharmacies, elevate health outcomes for complex patients, and elevate growth throughout the entire health system. As the foremost experts in the health system specialty pharmacy industry, Shields has a proven track record of success including access to over 80 percent of all limited distribution drugs (LDDs) and most (health insurance) payers in the nation; and a clinical model proven to lower total cost of care by 13%. In partnership with nearly 80 health systems across the country through national-scale collaboration, Shields has a vested interest in delivering measurable clinical and financial results for health systems. For more, visit our blog and follow us on social media, @ShieldsRX, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube. Shields Health Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Walgreens Boots Alliance and employs more than 2,000 people across the country.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
17-07-2025
- Boston Globe
Congress targeted Planned Parenthood, but also affected Maine healthcare provider
Vanessa Shields-Haas, a nurse practitioner, said the organization's clinics have been seeing all patients as usual and completing Medicaid paperwork for visits, but not submitting it because it appears the provision took effect as soon as the law was signed. 'Knowing how hard it is to access care in this state, not allowing these community members to access their care, it's cruel,' Shields-Haas said. Advertisement Maine clinics appear to be only others included in cuts Republican lawmakers targeted Planned Parenthood in one piece of what President Donald Trump dubbed the 'big beautiful' bill that Congress passed and Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up While advocates focused on Planned Parenthood, the bill did not mention it by name. Instead, it cut off reimbursements for organizations that are primarily engaged in family planning services — which generally include things such as contraception, abortion, and pregnancy tests — and received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023. The US Senate's parliamentarian rejected a 2017 effort to defund Planned Parenthood because it was written to exclude all other providers by barring payments only to groups that received more than $350 million a year in Medicaid funds. The non-profit Maine organization asserts in its legal challenge that the threshold was lowered to $800,000 this time around to make sure Planned Parenthood would not be the only affected entity. Advertisement It is the only other organization that has come forward publicly to say that its funding is at risk, too. Federal law already bars taxpayer money from covering most abortions. Instead, the money in question involves other health services, such as cancer screenings and tests, and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Proponents of that wrinkle in the law say abortion providers use Medicaid money for other services to subsidize abortion. 'This has never been just about Planned Parenthood,' Autumn Christensen, vice president of public policy for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement. 'It's about any Big Abortion business or network that performs abortions. Taxpayers should never be forced to prop up an industry that profits from ending human lives.' The US Department of Health and Human Services, which is named in the lawsuit, declined to comment because it's a legal matter. Maine Family Planning goes beyond abortion Maine Family Planning operates 18 clinics across the state. In 2024, it had about 7,200 family planning patients, plus another 645 who obtained abortions. Services include pregnancy testing, contraception, family planning counseling, breast exams, cancer screenings, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. Some of the sites also offer primary care services, where there are another 600 or so patients. There are about 800 gender-affirming care patients and about 200 who use its upstart mobile clinic, said George Hill, the president and CEO of the organization. Hill said that for about two-thirds of its patients, Maine Family Planning is the only place they get medical care in a typical year. Advertisement About half of the patients not seeking abortions are enrolled in Medicaid, and the clinics have been receiving about $1.9 million a year in reimbursements, which accounts for about one-fourth of the organization's budget. 'It's a difficult state to provide care in, and now we're facing this,' Hill said. In its lawsuit, the group says it has enough reserves to keep seeing patients covered by Medicaid without reimbursement only through October. Finding health care can be a struggle in this rural state Maine Family Planning says that if it had to turn away patients, it would be more complicated for them than simply finding another provider. There aren't enough in rural areas, the group notes — and many don't accept Medicaid. One patient, Ashley Smith, said she started going to Maine Family Planning about five years ago when she could not find other health care she could afford. While she's not enrolled in Medicaid, she fears clinics could be shuttered because of cuts. 'I am so worried that if my clinic closes, I don't know what I'll do or if I'll be able to see another provider,' Smith said. Maine Family Planning also supports care at more than 40 other health care facilities. Other than the Planned Parenthood locations that receive money from Maine Family Planning, those other providers don't stand to lose their Medicaid reimbursements. But, Hill said, the loss of Medicaid funding for Maine Family Planning would mean the group would have less to send to partners. The Maine clinics say the law violates their right to equal protection The Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Maine Family Planning in the challenge, says in its legal filing that the defunding denies it equal protection under the law because it would have funding cut off, but organizations that provide similar services would not. Advertisement 'The administration would rather topple a statewide safety network than let a patient get a cancer screening at a facility that also offers abortion care,' Meetra Mehdizadeh, a Center for Reproductive Rights lawyer, said in an interview.
Boston Globe
16-07-2025
- Boston Globe
The push to defund Planned Parenthood hit other clinics in Maine. Now their group is suing.
Vanessa Shields-Haas, a nurse practitioner, said the organization's clinics have been seeing all patients as usual and completing Medicaid paperwork for visits — but not submitting it because it appears the provision took effect as soon as the law was signed. 'Knowing how hard it is to access care in this state, not allowing these community members to access their care, it's cruel,' Shields-Haas said. Advertisement Maine clinics appear to be only others included in cuts Republican lawmakers targeted Planned Parenthood in one piece of what President Donald Trump dubbed the 'big beautiful' bill that Congress passed and the president signed earlier this month. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up While advocates focused on Planned Parenthood, the bill did not mention it by name. Instead, it cut off reimbursements for organizations that are primarily engaged in family planning services — which generally include things such as contraception, abortion and pregnancy tests — and received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023. The U.S. Senate's parliamentarian rejected a 2017 effort to defund Planned Parenthood because it was written to exclude all other providers by barring payments only to groups that received more than $350 million a year in Medicaid funds. The not-for-profit Maine organization asserts in its legal challenge that the threshold was lowered to $800,000 this time around to make sure Planned Parenthood would not be the only affected entity. Advertisement It is the only other organization that has come forward publicly to say that its funding is at risk, too. Federal law already bars taxpayer money from covering most abortions. Instead, the money in question involves other health services, such as cancer screenings and tests, and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Proponents of that wrinkle in the law say abortion providers use Medicaid money for other services to subsidize abortion. 'This has never been just about Planned Parenthood,' Autumn Christensen, vice president of public policy for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement. 'It's about any Big Abortion business or network that performs abortions. Taxpayers should never be forced to prop up an industry that profits from ending human lives.' The Associated Press has sought comment from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is named in the lawsuit. Maine Family Planning goes beyond abortion Maine Family Planning operates 18 clinics across the state. In 2024, it had about 7,200 family planning patients, including 645 who obtained abortions. Services include pregnancy testing, contraception, family planning counseling, breast exams, cancer screenings and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. Some of the sites also offer primary care services, where there are another 600 or so patients. There are about 800 gender-affirming care patients and about 200 who use its upstart mobile clinic, said George Hill, the president and CEO of the organization. Hill said that for about two-thirds of its patients, Maine Family Planning is the only place they get medical care in a typical year. Advertisement About half of the patients not seeking abortions are enrolled in Medicaid, and the clinics have been receiving about $1.9 million a year in reimbursements, which accounts for about one-fourth of the organization's budget. 'It's a difficult state to provide care in and now we're facing this,' Hill said. In its lawsuit, the group says it has enough reserves to keep seeing patients covered by Medicaid without reimbursement only through October. Finding health care can be a struggle in this rural state Maine Family Planning says that if it had to turn away patients, it would be more complicated for them than simply finding another provider. There aren't enough in rural areas, the group notes — and many don't accept Medicaid. One patient, Ashley Smith, said she started going to Maine Family Planning about five years ago when she could not find other health care she could afford. While she's not enrolled in Medicaid, she fears clinics could be shuttered because of cuts. 'I am so worried that if my clinic closes, I don't know what I'll do or if I'll be able to see another provider,' Smith said. Maine Family Planning also supports care at more than 40 other health care facilities. Other than the Planned Parenthood locations that receive money from Maine Family Planning, those other providers don't stand to lose their Medicaid reimbursements. But, Hill said, the loss of Medicaid funding for Maine Family Planning would mean the group would have less to send to partners. The Maine clinics say the law violates their right to equal protection The Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Maine Family Planning in the challenge, says in its legal filing that the defunding denies it equal protection under the law because it would have funding cut off, but organizations that provide similar services would not. Advertisement 'The administration would rather topple a statewide safety network than let a patient get a cancer screening at a facility that also offers abortion care,' Meetra Mehdizadeh, a Center for Reproductive Rights lawyer, said in an interview. Planned Parenthood already sued and won a reprieve from a judge, preventing its Medicaid payments cutoff — at least until July 21 — while a court considers that case. Planned Parenthood has warned that the law could put 200 of its affiliates' roughly 600 clinics across the U.S. at risk of closing.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Yahoo
Leerink Partners Reiterates a Hold Rating on Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA)
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) is one of the . On April 10, analyst Michael Cherny of Leerink Partners reiterated a Hold rating on Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA), retaining the price target of $11.50. The analyst based the rating on the company's strategic developments and recent performance. He stated that the company's pharmacy segment underwent significant growth with a rise in comparable prescriptions, especially in the back of the store. However, the store's front experienced challenges, including a fall in the sale of discretionary items. This affected overall retail sales. A pharmacist discussing the health benefits of a prescription medication with a customer. The analyst also reasoned that while Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) is showing positive momentum in its international operations, they were offset by a rise in investments in technology and payroll. The US Healthcare segment, however, exhibited improved profitability, which Cherny attributed to contributions from Shields and VillageMD. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) also announced a definitive agreement to be acquired by Sycamore Partners in March in a transaction valued at up to $23.7 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) is an American multinational company providing retail, pharmacy, and healthcare services. The company has approximately 12,500 locations across the US, Europe, and Latin America. Its brand portfolio includes well-known brands such as Walgreens, Boots, Duane Reade, and Benavides. While we acknowledge the potential of WBA as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: The Best and Worst Dow Stocks for the Next 12 Months and 10 Unstoppable Stocks That Could Double Your Money. Disclosure: None. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
