Walgreens has partnered with Blue Shield of California to expand in-person and virtual care options through the launch of 12 additional Walgreens Health Corner locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County. There are currently 12 Walgreens Health Corner locations in the region and an initial eight more will open by the middle of 2022.
The services will be available at no additional cost to members enrolled in Blue Shield’s commercial PPO and HMO plans who live within 20 miles of a Walgreens Health Corner location. Walgreens Health Corners are staffed by qualified personnel, such as pharmacists and registered nurses, who offer both in-store health counseling and support and services through the Walgreens Health Corner App.
Available services range from preventative care and wellness checks to assistance with managing chronic conditions. Options include select health screenings, scheduling mammography appointments and assistance with technology needs such as digital health applications and medical devices.
“Walgreens has a strong community presence throughout the state and together we are offering new ways for Blue Shield members to meet their health care needs and improve their overall health,” said D.D. Johnice, VP of the Health Transformation Lab at Blue Shield of California in a statement. “We are thrilled to make these resources available closer to home and to offer more satisfying and convenient support to our members and their families.”
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The Health Corner concept differs from Walgreens’ VillageMD operations through its focus on neighborhood-centric, highly personalized care as opposed to more generalized primary care. Health Corner will expand from 47 to 100 locations over the course of 2022, while the number of co-located VillageMD clinics will grow from 81 at least 200.
Walgreens has big plans for VillageMD, which the retailer acquired in October 2021. Walgreens is aiming open a total of 600 VillageMD primary care practices by 2025 and 1,000 by 2027. This will help Walgreens achieve its goal of becoming the first retailer to offer full-service primary care practices, including primary care physicians and pharmacists co-located in stores, on a national scale.
