As one of the keynote speakers at the 2014 mHealth Summit www.mhealthsummit.org on December 7-10, at the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center in the Washington D.C. area, Harry Leider, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Group Vice President at Walgreens www.walgreens.com shared his thoughts on how mHealth tools such as telehealth, sensors, and other devices are helping consumers in many ways.
Right now, Walgreens is offering a new telehealth option MDLIVE to give website users 24/7 access to U.S. board-certified doctors or nurse practitioners though their mobile app available in both iOS and android versions in California and Michigan with additional states to be rolled out over time. “We are delighted to work with MDLIVE www.mdlive.com to provide out patients with a leading telehealth solution,” according to Leider.
Last year, Walgreens launched its Pharmacy Chat www.walgreens.com/topic/s/chat.jsp feature, which enables users to chat live 24/7 with the pharmacy staff as part of its telehealth platform. The e-prescribing program also refills prescriptions and automates prescription refills.
Walgreens presently has several other programs to help people with health issues. One area that plays a big role in keeping people healthy is to use tools such as wearables to self-manage their own health and fitness.
To meet this need, Walgreen’s has established a successful program to help consumers that is called Balance Rewards for Healthy Choices www.walgreens.com/balanacerewards/balance-rewards.jsp?erule=balance_rewards.
The consumer is able to participate in health-related programs and in addition, track their progress towards their fitness goals. At the same time, the consumer receives points and at that point, the consumer can connect to an app or device where their points and progress is updated automatically.
Plans are for Walgreens and WebMD www.webms.com to integrate the Balance Rewards program into the WebMD mobile health improvement program. WebMD’s mobile app for iPhone called Healthy Target enables individuals to upload biometric device data from activity trackers, wireless scales and glucometers and receive tailored, physician-reviewed contextually relevant content and motivational tips.