Clinics offer 'accessible, high-quality care': the clinics complement the counseling and patient care provided by Rite Aid pharmacists

Chain Drug Review, August 18, 2008

CAMP HILL, Pa. -- Raising the profile of its health and wellness positioning, Rite Aid this year entered a partnership leading to the opening of four walk-in clinics at stores in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., areas.

The chain joined MedStar Health, the mid-Atlantic's largest hospital and health care provider, and Consumer Health Services Inc. (CHS), a manager of physician-staffed clinics, to launch MedStar PromptCare clinics in the four stores.

Under their agreement MedStar Health will provide clinical oversight and ensure access to necessary follow-up specialty and acute medical services. This integrates clinic care with MedStar Health-affiliated physicians and hospitals.

The clinics provide Rite Aid customers and the community with "accessible, high-quality medical care in a convenient setting," says executive vice president of pharmacy services Mark de Bruin.

The clinics complement the patient counseling and care provided by Rite Aid pharmacists, he adds. "It's a great combination and clearly supports Rite Aid's focus on health and wellness." Christine Swearingen, MedStar Heaith's senior vice president for strategy and business development, calls the partnership an "evolution" of retail health care delivery.

She adds that "MedStar PromptCare will offer patients an efficient continuum of care if they require further medical attention. By giving patients direct access to physicians, MedStar PromptCare clinics will provide an alternative to emergency rooms and urgent care centers for immediate medical services for nonemergency illnesses and injuries."

Patients can pay with cash, credit card or, for most major health insurance plans, their co-payment.

"Our agreement with MedStar Health and Rite Aid is an important milestone for our vision of what a truly integrated retail-based health care delivery model should look like to address episodic care needs outside of an ER," says Consumer Health Services chairman Dr. James D'Orta. "This collaboration will help ensure that patients treated at MedStar PromptCare sites will have access to immediate, high-quality health care."

MedStar PromptCare clinics are staffed by physicians to provide treatment for most commonly occurring ailments, including strep throat, flu and urinary tract infections; such minor injuries as lacerations, sprains and small fractures; as well as health and wellness screenings and vaccinations.

MedStar PromptCare physicians will be credentialed by and have admitting privileges to MedStar Health's hospitals, including Georgetown University Hospital and Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.; as well as Montgomery General Hospital in Montgomery County, Md., and Franklin Square Hospital Center, Good Samaritan Hospital, Harbor Hospital and Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore. This relationship provides patients with the opportunity to access specialists at some of the region's top health care facilities.

The clinics are expected to have secure electronic access to MedStar Health's patient information system to ensure continuity of care.

Both Washington and Baltimore are major pharmacy markets for Rite Aid. The chain's 87 units in greater Washington gave it more than 10% of the area's drug store volume last year, making it one of the top three players in the market. The area includes five counties in Maryland, nine in Virginia and one in West Virginia.

In metropolitan Baltimore, Rite Aid is the dominant pharmacy operator, with 94 outlets that generated more than a quarter of 2007 drug store sales. The area comprises six counties, and its population totals more than 2.67 million.