Discount retailer Dollar General has appointed four members to its healthcare advisory panel as it continues to explore opportunities in medtail and healthcare — a process that began in earnest with the July 2021 appointment of Chief Medical Officer Dr. Albert Wu. The new panel members are healthcare industry veterans who will work with Dollar General as the company develops its investment strategies in the health and wellness category. The panel’s new members include:
- Dr. Patrick Carroll, Chief Medical Officer of Vida Health and a physician whose experience includes retail health, managed care and integrated delivery networks, in addition to chief medical roles at Walgreens, Hims & Hers and Hartford Healthcare;
- Dr. Katy Lanz, Chief Strategy and Product Officer at Personal Care Medical Associates and National Board Director for National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, who also served as the Chief Clinician for Aspire Health prior to its 2018 acquisition by Anthem;
- Dr. Von Nguyen, Clinical Lead of Public and Population Health at Google, who has also worked with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina as Chief Medical Officer and SVP, in addition to fulfilling policy and strategy roles at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and
- Dr. Yolanda Hill Wimberly, SVP and Chief Health Equity Officer at Grady Health Systems and Professor of Pediatrics at Morehouse School of Medicine.
“Dollar General is excited to take these next bold steps on our healthcare journey and welcomes these talented and respected professionals to our new advisory panel,” said Wu in a statement. “With a belief in furthering our mission of ‘serving others,’ the panel will provide guidance and prioritization of efforts in the areas of health and wellness at DG.”
A medtail “surge” has been occurring since the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Retail leaders including Amazon, CVS and Walmart have enhanced their presence in the healthcare segment of retail, and even unlikely players like Best Buy have ventured into medtail. In June 2022, PetSmart grew its presence in the veterinary segment of medtail when it unveiled its PetSmart Veterinary Services (PVS), through which it forges partnerships with independent veterinarians who work within a franchised practice at one of the retailer’s locations.
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