Thursday, November 04, 2010

Coming Soon to a Pharmacy Near You: The “Retailization” of the Nation’s Health Care System

"Walgreens chief executive officer Greg Wasson this morning said the drugstore chain will step up investments in services to help Americans manage chronic diseases, saying the company wants to capitalize on what he called the “retailization” of the nation’s health care system.

The Deerfield, IL.-based pharmacy giant, meeting with Wall Street analysts and investors, said it wants to continue to expand its network of medical care providers and the services they provide. Walgreens 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. 

Wasson and his team say they see a booming market of aging baby boomers, citing one in three Americans who will turn 65 in the next decade. He said Walgreens pharmacies are trying to establish their pharmacists and other health professionals as an option to help provide certain primary medical care service amid a national shortage of primary care doctors.

Walgreens pharmacists, he said, can help patients “manage” their chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. The health care overhaul law will bring more than 30 million Americans coverage in the next four years and therefore give these uninsured people money to buy Walgreens services."

18 Comments:

At 11/04/2010 3:53 PM, Blogger juandos said...

What happens to Walgreens' plans "if' the Republicans defund ObamaCare?

 
At 11/04/2010 4:08 PM, Blogger Michael Hoff said...

juandos,

It's still a smart idea with escalating costs and a move toward employer-provided co-insurance.

 
At 11/04/2010 4:17 PM, Blogger juandos said...

"It's still a smart idea with escalating costs and a move toward employer-provided co-insurance"...

What's a smart idea Michael Hoff, ObamaCare or Walgreens' ideas on retailization?

I think the Walgreens' idea is in and of itself a good one but I was wondering if there might possibly be the thought that there was going to be federal money in it for Walgreens that would make it worth the effort for them to do it?

Right now (and for the last ten years) I've had employer provided co-insurance...

It could be subject to that 'Cadillac plan tax' starting in 2014 if nothing is done to mitigate Obamacare...

 
At 11/04/2010 4:23 PM, Blogger sethstorm said...

In other words, it means they are trying to cut corners in healthcare quality when doing so is done at the peril of the patient.

Walgreens(et al) couldnt have a conflict of interest here, couldnt they? That, and the ill-equipped NP's would miss plenty of things that an actual doctor would not miss. The kind of people that would come in these places would be less likely to receive impartial advice, much less good care from a doctor.

Those doctors that decided to spite our current healthcare system are the ones to blame for shortages.

 
At 11/04/2010 4:51 PM, Blogger Jet Beagle said...

"Those doctors that decided to spite our current healthcare system are the ones to blame for shortages."

What are you talking about, sethstorm? Who are these doctors, and what do you mean by "spite our current healthcare system"?

The prediction of a primary care physician shortfall is based on three factors:

1. the new federal health care law, which will expand the need for primary care physicians;

2. the limited number of primary care medical residency positions in teaching hospitals, which unfortunately are funded by Medicare;

3. the much higher pay which medical specialists receive relative to primary care physicians.

What do any of those factors have to do with "spiting" our health care system? Are you meaning that a medical school graduate is "spiting our current healthcare system" because he decides to pursue a higher paying career?

 
At 11/04/2010 5:25 PM, Blogger juandos said...

"Those doctors that decided to spite our current healthcare system are the ones to blame for shortages"...

Oh damn!

ROFLMAO!

OMG! I've not laughed this hard in quite sometime...

Damn! Now my ribs hurt from laughing!!

I can't hardly see the keyboard for the tears of laughter running down my face!!

Thanks sethstorm, I really do appreciate some of your less lucid moments...:-)

 
At 11/04/2010 8:07 PM, Blogger Ron H. said...

"What do any of those factors have to do with "spiting" our health care system? Are you meaning that a medical school graduate is "spiting our current healthcare system" because he decides to pursue a higher paying career?"

It's always hard to tell what Sethstorm means, but if I had to guess, I'd say he is referring to the idea of doctors not taking medicare patients due to decreases in medicare payments.

In sethstorm's world someone always seems to be 'spiting' or 'lording over'.

 
At 11/05/2010 5:04 AM, Blogger sethstorm said...


Ron H. said...

In yours, business can do no wrong and the people that object to them can do no right.

 
At 11/05/2010 6:21 AM, Blogger juandos said...

"In yours, business can do no wrong and the people that object to them can do no right"...

Well sethstorm you can always go into business yourself and see if your previous comments about business people were correct or mere fantasy...

Its just a thought...

Otherwise you sort of sound like this: Who Really Worries About Carbon Emissions?

Of all the agitators and propagandists lecturing the common person about their large carbon footprint life styles, not a single one has evidenced their belief in the “climate emergency” by their own behavior. This has been particularly true for President Obama, Al Gore and Hollywood...

 
At 11/05/2010 7:50 AM, Blogger sethstorm said...


juandos said...

Trying to paint me with the environmental activist or Hollywood brush would be far from the truth.

You would be just as bad for trying that without understanding the perspective of mere mortals that do well outside of running a business.

 
At 11/05/2010 8:03 AM, Blogger Paul said...

"You would be just as bad for trying that without understanding the perspective of mere mortals that do well outside of running a business."

How about those who sit on their asses while whining about how everyone is out to screw them? I've run across alot of people who think the world owes them a living, you're the first person I've ever seen flesh the sentiment out as an actual economic philosophy.

 
At 11/05/2010 9:14 AM, Blogger juandos said...

"Trying to paint me with the environmental activist or Hollywood brush would be far from the truth"...

Well sethstorm you had to work hard at missing the point but you did swerve away from it big time...

"I've run across alot of people who think the world owes them a living, you're the first person I've ever seen flesh the sentiment out as an actual economic philosophy"....

Cha-Ching!...

Paul nails it!

 
At 11/06/2010 11:26 AM, Blogger Ron H. said...

"That, and the ill-equipped NP's would miss plenty of things that an actual doctor would not miss."

What's so great about our current system, is that at least for now, you can CHOOSE not to go to Walgreen's if that's how you feel.

Ain't free choice great? enjoy it while you can.

"The kind of people that would come in these places would be less likely to receive impartial advice, much less good care from a doctor."

Do you mean "the dummies", sethstorm? What conflict do you see? Might the clueless and incompetent NP recommend a Walgreen's product for your tummy ache?

 
At 11/06/2010 12:09 PM, Blogger Ron H. said...

"That, and the ill-equipped NP's would miss plenty of things that an actual doctor would not miss."

Why do you have such a low opinion of Nurse Practitioners? Have you had a bad experience?

My own experiences with NPs and PAs has been very positive. They, like anyone else, know when they may be outside their area of expertise, and will refer you to someone with more knowledge or experience, and just as your doctor might refer you to a specialist.

In the distant past when you were an alleged IT person, you no doubt knew when you were out of your depth, and needed to call for help.

Or, maybe not. Maybe that's why you are no longer wotking in IT. Is that it, seth? I hadn't thought of that possibility before. That might account for your low opinion of first line service providers.

 
At 11/06/2010 12:14 PM, Blogger Ron H. said...

By the way, sethstorm, I believe juandos is trying to paint you with the 'hypocrite' brush. The people he used as examples are hypocrites for not practicing what they preach. Get it?

And, in case you are wondering, I'm trying to paint you with the 'clueless slacker' brush.

 
At 11/08/2010 5:26 PM, Blogger sethstorm said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

 
At 11/08/2010 5:26 PM, Blogger sethstorm said...


Why do you have such a low opinion of Nurse Practitioners?


They aren't meant to be a lesser doctor; they're fine when at the assistance of one.

 
At 11/08/2010 10:00 PM, Blogger Ron H. said...

"They aren't meant to be a lesser doctor; they're fine when at the assistance of one."

You don't know what a nurse practitioner is. Check the definition, training required, and pay close attention to duties and responsibilities, then, armed with some actual knowledge, make some meaningful comments about the subject - if you can.

You do a great disservice when you disparage a hard working group of people out of sheer cluelessness, but of course, that's what is to be expected of you, sethstorm.

 

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