The senior-focused pilot program between Humana Inc. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. has expanded with the opening of Humana’s third Partners in Primary Care practice inside an area Walgreens store.
The newest center, which combines Walgreens’ (Nasdaq: WBA) pharmacy services with Humana’s (NYSE: HUM) primary care services, opened Tuesday in Grandview.
The new Partners in Primary Care center is the seventh to open in the Kansas City area, the third of which is co-located inside a Walgreens at 13000 S. U.S. Highway 71.
The collaboration adds full-service primary care clinics for people aged 65 and older that go beyond the usual checkups and appointments and focus on building a relationship with patients, answering Medicare questions and directing them to health services in the community.
The companies started the pilot program last year when they added Partners in Primary Care practices to two area Walgreens stores in Kansas City and Raytown. A care team staffed by a physician, registered nurse, behavioral health specialists and social workers sees patients for both sick and well visits, averaging six visits a year.
An eighth location, also inside a Walgreens, will open in Overland Park later this year.
Jim OConor, senior vice president of U.S. health care strategy and development for Walgreens Boots Alliance, said seniors often experience challenges accessing primary care in convenient location. The “expert clinical support from a pharmacist” combined with a dedicated staff make managing chronic conditions easier and “help patients take the right medications at the right time.
“We’re creating a store environment where (seniors) are comfortable coming into — the change in this model for senior care is to encourage seniors to come to the store as often as they would like, which we know will improve adherence,” he said. “We also know the social interaction is an important part of overall health. So we’re setting up these environments where seniors can come into the store, interact with other seniors and interact with staff that know them and care for them.”
Each location features a community room that offers complimentary fitness classes, craft projects and educational seminars with topics that include technology assistance and chronic condition education.
Lori Mallory, a market president for Partners in Primary Care, said the community room is a place for seniors to socialize, learn and make the space their own.
“If they want somebody to come in and talk about traveling to Europe, we have somebody come in and talk about that. So it’s really designed for patients to take that over and develop different things,” Mallory said.
Mallory said onsite Humana representatives are available to help answer questions from Medicare patients and direct them to health services in the community, such as diabetes education or fitness classes.
“Often seniors get confused of all the different options they have available,” Mallory said. “We want to become a resource to help people understand how to optimize their health care in this season of their life.”
Date: September 26, 2019
Source: The Business Journals