Dive Brief:
- Walgreens is launching a virtual doctor visit feature on its mobile app, the company announced Monday. The nation's largest drugstore chain is teaming up with MDLive, a provider of virtual health services, to connect Walgreens customers with certified doctors via video chat on a smartphone, tablet or computer.
- The service is immediately available to residents of California and Michigan and will be rolled out in other states in the next few years. Illinois residents should be able to use the app by the end of 2015, said Dr. Harry Leider, the company's chief medical officer.
- Appointments cost $49, most of which goes to physicians. That fee is also not much more than a co-pay for an in-person doctor's visit through some insurance plans. Some insurance companies cover telemedicine, Leider said.
Dive Insight:
Walgreens is making a smart move by capitalizing on the trend of pharmacies launching convenient consumer-friendly healthcare solutions and programs. Virtual visits, too, are gaining fans in consumers who want answers to their health questions 24/7, anytime and anywhere.
Virtual visits are appealing because they offer patients the chance to get treated for non-urgent but inconvenient conditions such as sore throats and rashes. Physicians can write prescriptions after the virtual visits, which usually last 10 to 15 minutes, Leider told the Tribune.
In the broader scheme of things, retailers that don't find some way to offer cutting-edge health services—a la Rite Aid, CVS and Target—might get lost in the shuffle.
