Walgreens Healthcare Clinic invests in continuum of care

Walgreens has been at the forefront of the movement to make retail clinics a cornerstone of the American healthcare system.

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With more than 350 corporate-owned clinics in 20 states operating under the Healthcare Clinic banner and about 50 other clinics in its stores run by other providers, a long list of affiliations with health systems across the country and cutting-edge technology, the company has established itself as a critical provider of health services for thousands of Americans.



Since opening its first clinics in the early 2000s, Walgreens has grown that portion of its business by slowly adding more company-owned, walk-in health centers and partnering with established clinic operators to put clinics in Walgreen stores in certain markets.



In April, for instance, Walgreens teamed up with SSM Health on a deal under which SSM will take over ownership and operation of 27 Healthcare Clinics in St. Louis-area Walgreens stores. The clinics are expected to be renamed SSM Health Express Clinic at Walgreens later this year.



The deal followed an agreement in January between Walgreens and Advocate Health Care that has seen Advocate open 56 clinics at Walgreens stores in the Chicago suburbs.



“We believe this approach will help ensure a true continuum of care for patients and their providers. This is also an emphasis for our Walgreens-managed clinics, where we continue to make investments, such as a new EHR platform, to offer patient benefits through a variety of convenient care options,” Walgreens Healthcare Clinic chief medical officer Pat Carroll said.



He noted that by collaborating with other healthcare providers, Walgreens is helping drive the transition of the retail health clinic model from one providing urgent, episodic care to one offering more coordinated care. A key component of that coordination has come from Walgreens’ use of the Epic electronic health record platform that went into effect earlier this year.



“This state-of-the-industry EHR enables seamless communication with health systems and local providers, and gives us enhanced capabilities to deliver better health outcomes through greater care coordination and interoperability,” Carroll said. “As our clinics play an increasingly important role in health care — supporting the healthcare system, provider practices and patients’ medical homes — care coordination can be critical.”