Walgreens is shutting down nearly half of its in-store clinics due to stronger-than-anticipated competition, such as from the still-growing urgent care sector, and will instead start focusing more on telehealth services. The 200 retail locations that will remain open will mostly be those run through healthcare partnerships and focus more on complex and chronic health conditions like asthma, as opposed to immediate care. According to a recent post from mHealth Intelligence, Walgreens’ decision is part of an emerging trend among drugstore clinics that have found direct patient care more difficult than they thought it would be because it “isn’t easy and doesn’t turn a profit in the short run.” So, they’re looking to telehealth in the hope that profit margins will more forgibing there.
Published on
Not Getting Good Results from Its Clinics, Walgreens is Closing Stores to Focus on Telehealth