Friday, November 5, 2010

Your Pharmacist: The Center of Your Medical Care

I saw Walgreens present this concept at an AHIP Conference two years ago:

Walgreens will "step up investments in services to help Americans manage chronic diseases," the drugstore chain's CEO announced, because "the company wants to capitalize on what he called the 'retailization' of the nation's health care system." The pharmacy giant "increasingly has been lobbying to give pharmacists a greater role in medical care such as providing immunizations in its stores as well as establishing retail health clinics staffed by nurse practitioners." Walgreens' health professionals could help "provide certain primary medical care service amid a national shortage of primary care doctors" and assist patients in managing chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol, the company's CEO said.

Given the predicted stress on the primary care network once ACA kicks in beginning in 2014, this actually makes some sense. Of course I am sure the AMA would disagree.

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