Walgreens app makes health tracking easy

Walgreens is using its popular app to help consumers connect to many brands of fitness trackers outside of the store. The retailer, which is marketing Striiv, its own branded activity tracker, allows members of the company’s Balance Rewards program to also connect through 40 different devices and 27 apps, according to the Walgreen’s website.



“We do not sell the Apple Watch, but fitness data tracked on that device can be relayed through our mobile app to link up with Balance Rewards for Healthy Choices,” Jim Graham, Walgreens senior manager media relations, said.



Walgreens currently has more than 88 million active members of its Balance Rewards program through its mobile app, which earned a 5-star rating on the Apple App Store. Walgreens Balance Rewards for healthy choices has 1.2 million active users each with 1.6 healthy lifestyle goals met. These positive behaviors translate directly to reduced healthcare costs for participants, their employers and payers, Graham said, and noted that it allows the company to play a larger role in patients’ health.



“Our mobile app is an important part of our broader effort to make Walgreens a trusted healthcare partner, easily and immediately accessible, when you are tracking exercise with your wrist device, when it’s time to take your medication or when you are looking to save with coupons or redeem Balance Reward points.”

In addition to syncing with a patient’s preferred fitness tracker, the mobile app’s most popular features include a prescription refill, refill status check, photo print ordering and coupon generation, as well as its refill-by-scan feature, which enables patients to scan their pill bottle label.