Walgreens Boots Alliance is exiting the business of running health clinics in its stores and will instead use partnerships with health care providers to treat patients with some chronic conditions.
Walgreens says it will close about 160 of its approximately 400 in-store clinics, with the rest operating under the oversight of those health-provider partners. The company agreed this week to have the TriHealth nonprofit health system take over seven Cincinnati-area Walgreens health care clinics.
Walgreens will close about 160 of its 400 in-store clinics
“Today’s announcement demonstrates our ongoing commitment to collaborate with community health systems like TriHealth to offer convenient access to affordable health care services while helping to ensure a true continuum of care for our patients,” said Chet Robson, Walgreens' acting chief medical officer, in a press release. “We look forward to working with TriHealth as it shares our commitment to delivering exceptional and personalized patient care.”
CVS, meanwhile, continues to operate about 1,000 MinuteClinics inside its stores.
Pharmacy chains see clinics as a way to help offset losses from online pharmacy competitors
Pharmacy chains see themselves as being well placed to address such chronic conditions as diabetes, conditions which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says account for roughly 90 percent of the $3.3 trillion spent annually on health care in the U.S. The chains also view clinics as a way to help replace revenue they are losing to online pharmacy operators.
Separately, Walgreens announced a partnership with Jenny Craig this week to provide health and weight-loss services at about 100 stores across 20 states.
By Edmund Mander
Director, Editor-In-Chief/SCT
