Walgreens to diagnose and treat chronic conditions
Walgreens announced last week that it will expand its health care services to include diagnosing and treating patients for chronic conditions, reported USA Today. On the senior care front, those suffering from diabetes and high cholesterol could benefit from the expanded services from Walgreens Take Care Clinics.
Dr. Jeffrey Kang, senior vice president of health and wellness services and solutions at Walgreens, revealed in a press release that this will effect more than 300 Take Care Clinics in select Walgreens in across the United States:
With this service expansion, Take Care Clinics now provide the most comprehensive service offering within the retail clinic industry, and can play an even more valuable role in helping patients get, stay and live well Through greater access to services and a broader focus on disease prevention and chronic condition management, our clinics can connect and work with physicians and other providers to better help support the increasing demands on our health care system today.
The service expansion will allow medical professionals at Walgreens to treat and help patients manage several chronic conditions. Medical staff at Walgreens will even be able to write prescriptions and offer preventative health services including conducting lab tests and screenings based on a persons age, gender and family history, CBS reported. The whole process will be overseen by physicians who will be able to receive test results and other information electronically.
Walgreens announcement does have its doubters, however. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) released a statement saying that it’s more difficult to manage a patients care when treated in various settings and that these clinics may not have the specialty services required to treat more complex diseases.
The article didn’t mention whether or not Walgreens in Iowa and/or Nebraska are to be initially included.
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