Walgreen to open more in-store health clinics
Walgreen Co., the largest U.S. drugstore company in terms of revenue, on Monday said it plans to open more health clinics within its drugstores, marking the latest move by a pharmacy chain to offer health services that go beyond filling prescriptions.
Earlier this month, CVS Corp., the largest chain in terms of the most stores, said it plans to buy MinuteClinic, the biggest operator of retail-based health clinics in the United States, a move that will help it expand offerings for customers at its drugstores.
Walgreen, based in Deerfield, Illinois, opened 10 Health Corner Clinics in the Kansas City market last week and plans to open nine more in the St. Louis area later this summer.
On Monday, it also said it plans to open at least a dozen of the clinics in each of the Atlanta, Chicago and Las Vegas markets later this year, starting with Chicago this fall.
The clinics offer diagnosis and treatment of routine medical conditions, as well as screenings for conditions such as diabetes and vaccinations for flu, hepatitis B, meningitis and tetanus/diphtheria.
There are currently 83 MinuteClinic locations in 10 U.S. states. Sixty-six of those are located in CVS stores.
Walgreen is partnering with InterFit Health (RediClinic) in Atlanta, Take Care Health in Chicago, Kansas City and St. Louis, and Pinnacle EasyCare in Las Vegas.
The clinics offer services for insured patients, usually at the same price as an office visit co-pay, and offer uninsured patients services below the cost of a typical emergency room or out-of-pocket physician’s office visit.
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