Health IT

Walgreens moves into telemedicine with MDLIVE deal

Drugstore chains have been expanding healthcare services to provide a way for patients to see […]

Drugstore chains have been expanding healthcare services to provide a way for patients to see doctors outside of normal physician hours without having to go to an emergency room for non-emergencies. Walgreens’ move to adopt MDLIVE as a telemedicine provider echoes similar moves by rivals such as CVS and Rite Aid, but it also supplements the company’s other initiatives. Walgreens CMO Harry Leider made the announcement at the mHealth Summit this week.

Customers will be able to access doctors by email, text and video through Walgreens’ app for various acute conditions. Although the service is initially available to customers in California and Michigan, the plan is to roll it out to other states in the next year.

MDLIVE got started in 2009 in Sunrise, Florida and has provided telemedicine services through employers such as Cigna. It also has a HIPAA-compliant system that helps payers and providers collect and share clinical data from patient medical records, lab results and in-home biometric devices for real-time risk assessments and wellness advice. Last month it acquired behavioral health “teletherapy” company Breakthtough Behavioral to add more specialized services. Sdveral telemedicine companies have added mental health services and teledermatology to make them easier to access from home. It also offers a second opinion service.

Walgreens has been developing a healthcare strategy with a goal of complementing physician services and to provide a way to share these touch points with physician practices. Last year,  Walgreens began offering a service to diagnose and treat chronic conditions in its clinics. Diabetics visited the store an average of 20 times a year.  Like other drugstore groups, it has set up chat lines so pharmacists can answer customer queries on medication. It is also collaborating with Theranos to roll out physician-ordered diagnostic test collection centers at stores around the country.

Rite Aid partnered with telemedicine provider HealthSpot for a pilot in its Ohio stores, CVS is doing a telemedicine pilot at 28 sites in California. Walmart is collaborating with Humana.

Update: This story was updated to note that MDLive was started in 2009, not 2006.

 

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