Walgreen will collaborate with Orlando, Indianapolis health systems

Walgreen Co. continued its push into healthcare delivery with clinical collaboration agreements to offer and coordinate acute, chronic and preventive-care services for health systems in Orlando, Fla., and Indianapolis.

Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen, which recently rebranded its more than 370 in-store Take Care clinics as “Healthcare Clinics,” is linking the services it provides at seven Indianapolis-area facilities with the eight-hospital Community Health Network. And it entered into a similar agreement to do the same at 13 Central Florida Healthcare Clinics and the four-hospital Orlando Health system.

Along with treating minor illnesses and injuries, Walgreen will provide routine screenings, immunizations and management of conditions such as asthma, diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension.

Plans call for the use of electronic health records to better coordinate care, including integrating with Community Health's proprietary Community CareConnect system in Indianapolis, according to a news release. In Orlando, discussion includes development of a system for read-only access to patient medical information and creating an online center for appointment scheduling, according to a news release.

“In today's healthcare landscape, these types of innovative coordinated-care programs are vitally important to help ensure patients have access to the quality care they need,” Dr. Jeffrey Kang, Walgreen's senior vice president of health and wellness services and solutions, said in a release. “Orlando Health is an established healthcare leader in Central Florida, and its integrated approach to improving the community's health is a great strategic fit for Walgreen and our mission.”

Follow Andis Robeznieks on Twitter: @MHARobeznieks