Walgreens, as we all know, is the second largest pharmacy store chain in the USA has rolled out a digital marketplace, Find Care Now with 17 familiar service providers. They aim at providing the consumers at a price effective care system in which the consumer gets to choose the service based on the quality and price index.
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They offer various services ranging from lab tests, Physician consulting, hearing from specialists and the major non-emergency care services. Their objective is to take the services right into consumers mobile and online medium to bring in more consumers thereby growing into a more versatile low-cost care in the digital medium.
Transparency in price: current scenario
Though the emphasis on transparency is growing only some digital marketplaces tend to offer the end consumer the option to choose among various service providers on the grounds of cost and quality.
Even a when they list price many tend to be irrelevant to the original price. In a report submitted by Duke University researchers on analysis of pricing information on healthcare services for four most common non-emergency medical procedures,
Only 21.9% of the total 1,346 websites who claimed themselves price transparent marketplaces were found to be close to relevant when intervened.
28.4% of the total sites were linked to individual providers or clinics simply to boost their business.
A very less 7.4%, on the contrary, offered only the quality information while the cost was not disclosed
The information available with sites were found generic on 27.6% and 17.6% were totally irrelevant. The rest 55% comes under the grey zone.
Walgreens Find Care Now
Ever since the boom of medical and healthcare industry in the US and the compulsion to carry an insurance, we have seen a lot of improvements in medicine and pharmacy. The recent revolution is seen in the price transparency.
And Walgreens with its Find Care Now seems to comply it by offering more cheaper options for healthcare services by listing the cost and service providers, making it feasible for the end consumer to compare and pick the most valuable option.
What do the major competitors offer ?
Walgreens price transparency has pushed CMS to require its service provider with prices. The first largest pharmacy CVS is also active in the sector working with Epic in the process of acquiring Aetna to specifically offer low-cost drug options through an online medium by enhanced data analytics.
Walmart is also rising in the charts which recently acquired Patient Engagement Platform from Sharecare and hired the former vice president of innovation at Humana, Sean Solvenski to head it.
Walgreens also is building into a versatile healthcare company by adding a chain of services from its partners. In December 2017, Walgreens with Optum’s MedExprees opened urgent care centers attached with Walgreens pharmacy in five major markets. Also, they partnered with NYP to offer telemedicine service through Walgreens website and select self-service kiosks in New York.