Healthcare Doesn’t Happen in Silos: Collaboration is the Future of Care

In healthcare, we know better outcomes come from collaboration among providers, patients, payers and communities. And yet, many systems still operate in silos. Fragmentation means patients are left to bridge the gaps among their doctors, pharmacies, and insurance plans.

Healthcare cannot be confined to the four walls of a clinic or office. Where people live, shop, eat and interact shapes health outcomes as much as – if not more than – their clinical care. Retailers sit at this intersection of food, pharmacy and everyday life—which means we are uniquely positioned to drive meaningful change.

At Kroger Health, we see a future where healthcare isn’t segmented but connected, proactive, and personalized. That future requires intentional collaboration across sectors, leveraging data and technology, with all parties centered on the total health of the patient.

But we can’t do it alone. That’s why we are working across ecosystems to build patient-centered, outcome-driven models of care that simplify the complexity of real life.

Turning Nutrition Insights into Everyday Action

Food is one of the most powerful tools we have for better health, and our goal is to make it easier for everyone to make more nutritious choices. It is a cornerstone of chronic disease management, but it is also the key to preventing disease before it begins.

However, nutrition facts panels, ingredient lists, and packaging labels are often overlooked, misunderstood, or misleading. To combat this, we collaborated with the FoodHealth Co. to rate foods from 1 to 100 based on their nutrient density and ingredient quality, helping customers make more informed choices.

It is not about pushing kale over cookies; instead, we are intentionally nudging families towards better-for-them foods that they will actually enjoy. The FoodHealth scores of items purchased can be aggregated by cart and trended over time to provide our customers with insights on their nutrition, the items that are impacting it the most, and how to make changes. This information helps people see how everyday decisions—what goes into a cart, a recipe and a routine—can shape long-term health. 

And for those customers who want or need additional support, our team of registered dietitian nutritionists can provide personalized guidance on which foods will fit best into their lifestyle and health goals.

Nourishing Change by Working Together

Next year, Kroger Health will join Hy-Vee as co-hosts of the Nourishing Change Conference in Des Moines, Iowa—an event created to explore how nutrition, supplier, technology, pharmacy, clinic and retail innovations can strengthen the health of individuals and communities.

Hy-Vee and Kroger share the belief that access to healthcare, as well as nutritious foods should never depend on where someone lives or shops. The challenges we face—chronic disease, food insecurity, and rising healthcare costs—demand that we work together, open a space for idea exchange and cross-sector collaboration, and drive progress.

Cross-sector collaboration, not competition, will define the next era of healthcare. When organizations work together around shared goals, we move closer to a system that is built on empathy, access and lasting impact. Everybody wins when health is a shared priority.

Breaking Down the Silos: What Comes Next?

Some of the most impactful progress in healthcare happens at the intersections of food and pharmacy, retail and research, data and daily life. While innovation sets the stage, transformation requires ongoing collaboration, accountability and placing people at the heart of every decision.

So, what does that look like in action?

• Retailers build trusted relationships with patients and serve as a front door to care in their communities.

• Payers invest in upstream solutions, such as nutrition and preventive care, that reduce long-term costs and enhance quality of life.

• Providers embrace team-based, community-informed care models that integrate pharmacists, dietitians and behavioral health professionals.

• Innovators design inclusive tools that connect systems and people.

Change takes root when people sit down and try to solve something together. That is how ideas start to click and trust begins to grow—when healthcare becomes less about competition and more about people.

At Kroger Health, we believe progress will not come from a single company or industry. It will come from people willing to work across lines, to share what they know, to admit what they do not, and to keep showing up to build something better for the communities that we serve every day.