Dive Brief:
- St. Louis-based SSM Health Care has agreed to collaborate with Walgreens' Healthcare Clinic on an information-sharing platform and after-hours care.
- Under the collaboration, which launches January 2014, patients who currently see SSM primary care doctors will be able to share health information they generate at Walgreens with their PCPs; also, SSM physicians will get Walgreen's discharge reports.
- SSM doctors will also have the opportunity to refer patients for after-hours and non-emergent care to the participating Walgreens locations, a step which allows for better coordination of care.
Dive Insight:
While this sounds like a marriage of convenience, SSM and Walgreens have bigger hopes. Specifically, patients who use the Walgreens clinics who don't have a medical home will get help in finding one with an SSM primary care doc. This could prove to be a useful mechanism for getting the young, primarily healthy consumers into a lasting relationship with a PCP. At the moment, the scope of the relationship is limited, but it may very well grow if consumers respond. This seems like a good idea.