Walgreens and the University of Miami Health System Joins Forces

A collaborative effort between Walgreens and the University of Miami Health System will deliver coordinated clinical care and pharmacy excellence to patients in South Florida, according to apress release.

UHealth Clinic will manage and provide all clinical services at 17 retail clinics within Walgreens stores in South Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

“This collaboration is an important step in UHealth’s commitment to improving the health of our community and access to our high-quality clinicians,” said Steven M. Altschuler, MD, CEO of UHealth. “We will provide a seamless and integrated health care experience for our patients regardless of where they receive their care across our University of Miami Health System.”

In the near future, Walgreens will be opening pharmacies at 3 University of Miami Health System facilities as its exclusive retail pharmacy provider. The new pharmacy at The Lennar Foundation Medical Center is scheduled to open December 19, 2016, while their retail pharmacies at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Hospital is expected to open in January 2017.

Walgreens will also be providing 90-day retail prescription benefits and specialty pharmacy services for the University’s employees and their families, accord to the press release.

The transition of the 17 existing Walgreens Healthcare Clinics is expected to take place in spring 2017. The clinics will become an extension of the UM Health System, which will be named UHealth Clinic.

UHealth Clinic at Walgreens will provide consumers with improved access to transformative, research-based, personalized care from the University of Miami Health System, the press release stated.

The UHealth Clinic at Walgreens will operate 7 days a week, including evenings, to give patients the option to receive health care services with or without an appointment.

“Walgreens has been a trusted provider of pharmacy and other health care services to South Florida residents and those within the UM community for decades,” said Brad Fluegel, senior VP and chief health care commercial market development officer at Walgreens. “This is a tremendous opportunity to work closely with the UM Health System to help ensure a true continuum of care, with our pharmacists playing an integral role as part of patients’ care teams. Forming deeper and more collaborative relationships with health systems is one of the ways in which we’re responding to the changing needs of both patients and our health care system.”

Additionally, Walgreens and the University of Miami Health System plans to form a joint council to share best practices and experiences in order to improve patient care, quality, and satisfaction, while also reducing health care costs.

“Building from this start, the University and Walgreens intended to explore new approaches to further extend access to routine and specialty care, to improve patient health through enhanced pharmacy services, and to utilize innovative ways to reach patients when and where they would benefit,” said John Sory, UHealth’s chief executive of the UHealth Regional Alliance.