Walgreens Launches Employer-centric Pharmacy, Health Care Services
Walgreens plans to launch an employer-centric pharmacy, health and wellness program designed to reduce health care and prescription costs for employers across the country by taking a holistic and preventive approach to health care.
The program, called "Complete Care and Well-Being," brings together pharmacy, health and wellness services under a single umbrella, with all prices transparent to the employer. According to Walgreens, it represents a fundamental change in the delivery of health care services for employers, their employees, dependents and retirees.
"Over the past two years, we built and assembled the services necessary to offer a unique solution to rising pharmacy and health care costs," said Walgreens president Greg Wasson. "Unlike most health care reform options, Walgreens Complete Care and Well-Being program will address both controlling costs and improving access to quality care. It also delivers on the promise of reform in a way that sets us apart from other solutions and provides value for employers and payers of all types."
The program is offered through Take Care Health Systems, a Walgreens subsidiary that's the largest provider of worksite health-and-wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics in the country. Complete Care and Well-Being combines worksite health centers, in-store clinics and pharmacies with a discount prescription drug offering that's available nationally to a company's employees, dependents and retirees no matter where they work or live. In addition, beneficiaries under the plan receive a 15 percent savings on all Walgreens brand store products.
A goal of this integrated care program is to produce opportunities for more interaction among clinicians and patients, and increased patient compliance. It also will provide greater patient satisfaction and lower employer health care costs, said Walgreens.
The program's foundation is the pharmacy and health centers located on employer campuses or manufacturing facilities, along with Take Care's in-store retail clinics and Walgreens nationwide pharmacies. Take Care's employer health centers offer complete pharmacy and health care services ranging from acute (e.g., strep throat) to primary care, occupational health, infusion services, specialty pharmacy, prescription mail services and disease management and are staffed by a combination of Walgreens clinicians including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals. Take Care Clinics, walk-in health care clinics open seven days a week and located at neighborhood Walgreens drug stores nationwide, are staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants who offer health care services built around a families' needs.
"Complete Care and Well-Being can be a single-source offering, using Walgreens pharmacy administration capabilities, or can be integrated with an existing pharmacy and health care benefit provider," said Wasson. "The prescription pricing component allows companies that use a pharmacy benefit manager to continue doing so while taking advantage of all that we can offer. Insurers and managed care organizations can also offer more value in their own networks by capitalizing on the depth of our program and its nationwide availability of services."
Walgreens operates 6,636 drugstores in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
The program, called "Complete Care and Well-Being," brings together pharmacy, health and wellness services under a single umbrella, with all prices transparent to the employer. According to Walgreens, it represents a fundamental change in the delivery of health care services for employers, their employees, dependents and retirees.
"Over the past two years, we built and assembled the services necessary to offer a unique solution to rising pharmacy and health care costs," said Walgreens president Greg Wasson. "Unlike most health care reform options, Walgreens Complete Care and Well-Being program will address both controlling costs and improving access to quality care. It also delivers on the promise of reform in a way that sets us apart from other solutions and provides value for employers and payers of all types."
The program is offered through Take Care Health Systems, a Walgreens subsidiary that's the largest provider of worksite health-and-wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics in the country. Complete Care and Well-Being combines worksite health centers, in-store clinics and pharmacies with a discount prescription drug offering that's available nationally to a company's employees, dependents and retirees no matter where they work or live. In addition, beneficiaries under the plan receive a 15 percent savings on all Walgreens brand store products.
A goal of this integrated care program is to produce opportunities for more interaction among clinicians and patients, and increased patient compliance. It also will provide greater patient satisfaction and lower employer health care costs, said Walgreens.
The program's foundation is the pharmacy and health centers located on employer campuses or manufacturing facilities, along with Take Care's in-store retail clinics and Walgreens nationwide pharmacies. Take Care's employer health centers offer complete pharmacy and health care services ranging from acute (e.g., strep throat) to primary care, occupational health, infusion services, specialty pharmacy, prescription mail services and disease management and are staffed by a combination of Walgreens clinicians including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals. Take Care Clinics, walk-in health care clinics open seven days a week and located at neighborhood Walgreens drug stores nationwide, are staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants who offer health care services built around a families' needs.
"Complete Care and Well-Being can be a single-source offering, using Walgreens pharmacy administration capabilities, or can be integrated with an existing pharmacy and health care benefit provider," said Wasson. "The prescription pricing component allows companies that use a pharmacy benefit manager to continue doing so while taking advantage of all that we can offer. Insurers and managed care organizations can also offer more value in their own networks by capitalizing on the depth of our program and its nationwide availability of services."
Walgreens operates 6,636 drugstores in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.