Walmart outlines retailer's health reach to Nashville Health Care Council

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Walmart's No. 1 seller by units is bananas, an indicator that Americans are making healthier choices, Marcus Osborne, VP health and wellness payer relations for Wal-Mart Stores, told former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and members of the Nashville Health Care Council, according to a report in the Nashville Business Journal.

 

When people are asked what they think Walmart's bestsellers are, they usually answer with Cheetos or Coke, Osborne said. 

 

Osborne outlined four ways through which the retailer is reaching its consumer base with health offerings, including its pharmacy, the front-end over-the-counter and natural health section, such ancillary services as vision and hearing clinics and in-store retail clinics, which currently operate in three Walmart markets — roughly 17 in all in Georgia, South Carolina and Texas.

 

In 2014, Walmart emerged with a new, more primary-care focused clinic offering under the banner Walmart Care Clinic, and a radical payment structure — free for its associates, $40 for all customers regardless of service. Even without advanced diagnostic equipment and xray machines, Osborne said the Care Clinics can provide about 80-90% of all primary care needs, according to the article.

 

When Walmart polled its consumers on its retail clinic offering, women reported they'd want to get their annual exams there, the Nashville Business Journal reported. For millennials, Walmart is looking to incorporate a stronger mobile or telehealth component, because for that age group, it's "how I want it, when I want it," Osborne said. 

 

Acoording to the organization's website, the Nashville Health Care Council, founded in 1995, is comprised of "a select group of senior executives who are passionate about solving health care's most complex problems in a way that supports organizationsof all sizes — from privately held startups to publicly traded companies." Former Sen. Frist, a physician, currently serves as Council Fellows chairman.