Dive Brief:
- A consumer advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. has filed a complaint with the Florida Department of Health, alleging that Walgreen's pharmacy model violates patient privacy.
- Late last year the group, Change to Win, found that Walgreen's "Well Experience" model can lead to violations of HIPAA. The model puts pharmacists at a workstation in front of the counter and allows them to remotely view pharmacy technicians and assess prescription accuracy using pictures and video displayed on the computer screen.
- The group's report concluded that HIPAA-protected information on patients was left unattended and visible to the public in 80% of the stores, and that prescription medications were left unattended and within reach of pharmacy customers at 46% of the stores.
Dive Insight:
Walgreen's model sounds forward-looking in its use of technology, something that's often good for patients, but if it leads to processes which violate HIPAA regulations or otherwise don't follow state law, it's not going to last. Though the Well Experience has been in place since late 2011, and the retailer doubtless spent millions on technology across its very large network to put model in place, it may be forced to completely reevaluate this model if Change to Win's challenge prevails. Worse for Walgreen, it will have to deal with what could only be considered a very substantial change in how it does business. This won't be pretty.