Walmart is rolling out “state-of-the-art” new health centers that offer X-ray imaging and integration with Epic’s electronic health records system, leaders announced Tuesday.
All five locations are in the state of Florida and will also include primary care, lab work, ECG, behavioral health, dental, optical, hearing and more for a flat fee. Physicians, nurse practitioners, dentists and others will staff the centers, open six days a week (with a telehealth option on Sunday) and located adjacent to the Bentonville, Arkansas, company’s superstores.
“Two years after the launch of Walmart Health, we continue evolving and growing to make healthcare even more accessible to the communities we serve,” David Carmouche, MD, senior VP of omnichannel care offerings, said in a statement. “With only one primary care doctor per 1,380 Florida residents, these Walmart Health centers will help address the demand for care in three major cities in the Sunshine State, delivering quality healthcare at the right time in the right setting, right next to where many Floridians get their groceries.”
The first Florida location opened on Tuesday in Jacksonville, with more to follow this month in Middleburg, Kissimmee and Sanford. The fifth will launch June 7 in Wesley Chapel, while the five new Florida health centers are the first to utilize Epic EHR technology. Altogether, the retailer has 380 stores in the state and noted that its population continues to grow rapidly at a 13% clip, double the overall U.S. rate.
Walmart operates a total of about 20 health centers across Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois and Texas. Camouche said the company plans to open further locations but will be strategic about where it pursues the in-person option. Each week, about 220 million customers visit the company’s 10,500 stores and clubs in 24 countries.
“We don't want to have a one-size-fits-all delivery model," he told Fierce Healthcare. “If all we did was build clinics, that really wouldn't make sense in some communities where we may need a much stronger virtual care presence.”
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.