Walgreens plans expansion of EHR initiative for all its stores by next summer

Walgreens is expanding its electronic health record (EHR) program to all of its stores by the summer of 2013.

While the pharmacy chain’s “Wellness EHR” is currently deployed in 200 stores, Walgreens plans a chain-wide rollout to its nearly 8,000 locations. The WellHealth EHR is part of Walgreen’s HealthCloud initiative to transform its traditional drug stores to “health and daily living destinations,” according to a statement from Walgreens’ EHR platform provider, Greenway Medical Technologies in Carrollton, Ga.

“With a view into a customer’s prescription, immunization, and health testing record, our pharmacy staff can provide additional recommendations, such as whether the customer is due for a specific immunization,” said Tim Theriault, Walgreens senior vice president and chief information officer.

The WellHealth EHR will deliver a single view of patients’ immunization and health testing history. “Once rollout is complete, Walgreens pharmacy staff will have up-to-date patient immunization and health testing information, combined with pharmacy information, regardless of the Walgreens location where a patient received the service,” according to the Greenway statement. The EHR also allows customers to schedule appointments and supports real-time medical billing.

In the future, the WellHealth EHR could include integration with electronic prescribing and data exchange that tracks patients through the care continuum. Walgreens began deploying the Greenway EHR Platform at its worksite health centers in 2010.