In an industry rife with mergers and acquisitions, Walgreens and
Kroger are leveraging partnerships to expand their health care offerings.
One might—and
would—expect such a move from Walgreens, but Kroger’s expansion further into
health care might give an onlooker pause.
Still, that
onlooker would have to have been pretty oblivious to other efforts to
incorporate health care pockets within other businesses. But Walgreen’s partnering with United
Healthcare to open UnitedHealthcare Medicare services
centers within Walgreens stores in five metropolitan areas also involves
collaboration between the two companies and new AARP Medicare Advantage
Walgreens plans from UnitedHealthcare.
That effort is
aimed at delivering lower prescription drug costs and more convenient access to
medications for seniors—who can also make an appointment for an in-store annual
wellness visit at the Medicare services center in Walgreens through
UnitedHealthcare’s HouseCalls program. The UnitedHealthcare Medicare services centers
will begin to open in January 2020 at Walgreens stores in the Las Vegas,
Phoenix, Cleveland, Denver and Memphis markets.
Meanwhile, Kroger’s
360care is, according to a Kroger release, an initiative that enables
“hospitals and health care networks to leverage Kroger resources to provide
broader access and value-based health care for their patients.” According to
the Louisville Business First,
the supermarket chain already has more than 2,000 pharmacies, as well as 215
Little Clinic locations in stores in nine states, including Kentucky, Indiana
and Ohio.
Altogether, Kroger
has 2,759 stores in 35 states, but this recent partnership with a Tennessee
hospital and health care network expands their services—and more such
arrangements with other health care networks are planned.
Ascension Saint
Thomas Health operates 97 practice sites with more than 500 physicians and
advanced practitioners. Kroger has 116 pharmacies and 40 clinics in Tennessee.
The supermarket’s existing clinics, according to the report, “offer licensed
medical care involving a variety of services, including cold and flu
treatments, vaccinations, screenings, sports physicals and ongoing health
management” in locations that are open seven days a week. In addition,
customers can access services from registered dietitians and nutrition techs.
“If we in grocery
are truly going to improve health outcomes beyond screenings, were going to
have to get in deep with how patients are living their life,” Jim Kirby,
Kroger’s senior director of pharmacy services, said in August. “This is
something that we really harp on at Kroger. We have to engage every patient,
every time.”
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