Walgreens will offer expanded clinical services in its pharmacies in Chicago, beginning in the city's underserved neighborhoods on the South Side, the company said Oct. 7.
The new pharmacy initiatives include:
- Diabetes outreach — Pharmacists will offer consultations with diabetes patients to personalize their health plans and address any barriers to medications. They will make recommendations for health screening and immunizations. Walgreens said that early results of the outreach program have shown improved medication adherence.
- Pediatric asthma outreach and education — There's a high prevalence of pediatric asthma in Chicago, and pharmacists will now conduct outreach to parents and guardians of children with asthma to educate them on the proper use of asthma medications, review side effects, discuss asthma triggers and provide action plans in collaboration with patients' other providers, Walgreens said.
- Flu clinics — Walgreens is providing flu shots at no cost in Chicago pharmacies through partnerships with payers.
- Health screenings — Walgreens has sponsored the First Ladies Health Initiative, which works with African American church leaders and pastors' wives to give free health screenings and immunizations.
- Chronic disease management — Walgreens has partnered with the American Heart Association's Chicago chapter to eliminate health disparities and the life expectancy gap among Chicago neighborhoods.
- Affordable access to medications — Walgreens is expanding its prescription savings club, which provides savings on over 8,000 medications. It's also extending its offering of free prescription delivery through the end of 2020.
"One of the most crucial steps in breaking down health disparities is making sure that people have a trusted place in their communities to receive the care and treatment they need. For many, those places are their local pharmacies," said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. "By working closely with community partners like Walgreens, we can help ensure that essential pharmacy services remain available to the communities that rely on them the most, improve and provide education on these services, and get that much closer to closing health gaps for our most vulnerable neighborhoods once and for all."
Separately, Walgreens launched its Find Rx Coverage Adviser Oct. 8, a resource that connects patients directly to health plan partners to help with questions about insurance enrollment.