Walgreens names Ban chief medical officer

Walgreens has named physician Kevin Ban to the role of chief medical officer. Ban assumes leadership of Walgreens’ clinical office and will oversee the development of business-wide clinical programs and analytics, and will direct provision of care, clinical outcomes, patient safety and healthcare information systems and programs for pharmacy and operations. 

Ban joins Walgreens from athenahealth, where he was chief medical officer, and brings more than 20 years of clinical experience, medical systems innovation leadership and performance improvement efforts to the role. As part of the position, Ban also will engage with Walgreen’s health system, provider and payer network to support healthcare programs and services, as well as collaborating with the company’s Health services team on Walgreens’ strategic initiatives. 

“Kevin’s demonstrated experience and passion make him a great fit for Walgreens business and strategy moving forward,” said Alex Gourlay, president of Walgreens and co-chief operating officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance. “Dr. Ban shares Walgreens vision of creating improved health outcomes for the communities we serve through greater access to convenient healthcare services, products, technologies and medical expertise, and will play a critical role in helping us develop and execute strategy across these channels.”

Ban is set to work closely with teams across Walgreens to bring patients new physical and digital healthcare services in store and via the company’s digital channels. 

“I’m proud to be joining Walgreens, a company that I’ve visited throughout my life and have seen grow and evolve its healthcare offerings,” Ban said. “I’m excited and looking forward to working with the dynamic team at Walgreens to ensure together we are bringing our patients continuous enhancements to our healthcare and pharmacy offerings.”

Ban will be based in Deerfield, Ill. and report to Gourlay.