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Hartford HealthCare To Open Five Clinics At CT Walgreens. Here's Where They're Going.

Hartford HealthCare will open health clinics in five Walgreens pharmacies within the next year, the health care system announced.

It is Walgreens first retail clinic collaboration in New England, according to Hartford HealthCare.

Clinics will open at Walgreens at 340 Flanders Road at Flanders Four Corners, East Lyme; 2 Shaker Road, Enfield; 235 Main St., Norwalk; 203 Kennedy Drive, Putnam; and one additional location to be announced.

The clinics will offer primary care, screenings, vaccinations and confidential telehealth services, seven days a week, by appointment or walk-in, according to the health care system. They will be staffed by a Hartford HealthCare Medical Group employee, who will register patients, and a primary care provider.

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"Hartford HealthCare is intent on changing the way healthcare is delivered, and this collaboration with Walgreens is another example of the variety of convenient offerings and care settings we are adding," said Jeffrey A. Flaks, president and CEO of Hartford HealthCare, in the statement.

"Our organizations are working together to combine resources and best practices to create an innovative retail health environment that meets consumers' needs and exceeds their expectations," he said. 

"Walgreens is committed to providing patients the care they need when and how it is most convenient for them," said John Driscoll, executive vice president and president of U.S. Health care, Walgreens Boots Alliance, in the statement.

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"Through this special collaboration with Hartford HealthCare, we can help keep patients more connected to high-quality care and foster long-term relationships and behaviors that help patients get and stay healthy," he said.

Nearly 80% of Americans live within five miles of a Walgreens store, according to the statement. 

The big chain pharmacy industry is going through upheaval in 2023. In September and October, both CVS and Walgreens were hit by walkouts from pharmacy staff, The Associated Press reported.

The Connecticut Pharmacy Commission has found 21 cases of Walgreens and Rite Aid pharmacies that closed, usually for a day or more, without proper notice. Both companies said they have policies in place to address informing both the state and patients of closures, as well as for minimum disruptions.

According to state regulations, pharmacies can only close if the pharmacist cannot work and cannot find a replacement. It can only be for one day, can happen no more than 18 times a year and no more than twice in a 30-day period. Any closing must be reported within 72 hours.

Patients also must be notified of the closure and told where they can pick up their prescriptions.

Karen May, spokeswoman for Walgreen Co., issued a statement in September saying, "Whenever there is a temporary closure, our policies call for us to make every effort possible to notify the Department of Consumer Protection and to proactively communicate the closure to our patients. We have also taken action to reinforce our compliance requirements with our team members."

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Ed Stannard can be reached at estannard@courant.Com. 

Hartford HealthCare And Walgreens Team Up To Open Primary Care Clinics At Pharmacies In CT

Published October 25, 2023 at 2:46 PM EDT

Hartford HealthCare is setting up primary care clinics at Walgreens pharmacies across Connecticut. Its the first retail clinic collaboration for Walgreens with a health system in New England, according to the pharmacy chain.

Four clinics are planned by year end in East Lyme, Enfield, Norwalk and Putnam, Connecticut, with a fifth location to be determined at a later date.

The partnership hopes to bring to patients "the care they need when and how it is most convenient for them," said John Driscoll, an executive at Walgreens, in a statement.

Jeffrey Flaks, president and CEO of Hartford HealthCare, said the group is "intent on changing the way health care is delivered."

The model includes access to primary care, medication pick up, and grocery shopping at one location. Walgreens claims nearly 80% of Americans live within five miles of one of their stores.

In the last year, Hartford HealthCare has entered into several collaborations including with Amazon's One Medical. The association was aimed to integrate One Medical's primary care clinics being set up statewide with Hartford HealthCare's diagnostic and specialty care offerings.

Hartford HealthCare Clinics To Open At Walgreens

Walgreens will partner with Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare to introduce health clinics at specific Walgreens outlets, which marks the retailer's first clinic partnership with a health system in New England.

Under the partnership, five clinics managed by Hartford HealthCare will be integrated into Walgreens sites, according to an Oct. 24 news release from Hartford HealthCare. 

The clinics, which will operate as Hartford HealthCare at Walgreens, are slated to open within a year and will provide primary care, screenings, vaccinations, telehealth consultations, and additional services seven days a week, available both by scheduled appointments and walk-in visits.

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