Healthcare Disruptors Pivot from Retail Primary Care as Walmart Sells MeMD Virtual Care Program

As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, disruptors are increasingly recognizing that managing it is not like running a shopping center. Recent news of Walmart’s sale of its MeMD virtual care program to Fabric, a telehealth startup, underscores this trend. Fabric, a one-year-old company with $60 million in Series A funding and support from investors like General Catalyst and Salesforce Ventures, has partnered with major healthcare providers such as OSF HealthCare, MUSC Health, and Intermountain Health.

This move comes after Walmart announced the closure of its virtual care platform and many in-store health centers, signaling a shift away from retail primary care services. The decision by Walmart follows a pattern of disruptors backing out of the retail primary care space due to challenges in turning a profit. Other companies such as Walgreens, CVS Health, Rite Aid have also scaled back their healthcare plans in response to business struggles and the selling of pharmacies. Amazon has also recently announced plans to consolidate its virtual care and primary care services onto a single platform.

Fabric’s acquisition of MeMD will allow them to expand their offerings and provide innovative behavioral health services to their customers. CEO Aniq Rahman stated that the acquisition aligns with their vision to transform healthcare delivery across different payer, employer, and provider organizations. However, the challenge remains to create a sustainable retail primary care model that provides value while being able to deliver exceptional patient care. Eric Wicklund, Associate Content Manager and Senior Editor for Innovation at HealthLeaders notes that while retail tactics can enhance the patient experience they do not necessarily translate well into the delivery of healthcare services.