University of Miami Health System and Walgreens Announce Retail Clinic and Pharmacy Collaboration

DEERFIELD, Ill. & MIAMI, Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Walgreens and the University of Miami Health System today announced a collaboration focused on delivering coordinated clinical care and pharmacy excellence to patients across South Florida.

As part of the agreement, UHealth – the University of Miami Health System, 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.

In addition, Walgreens will soon open pharmacies at three University of Miami Health System facilities, as its exclusive retail pharmacy provider. The new pharmacy at The Lennar Foundation Medical Center, UHealth's state-of-the-art facility in Coral Gables, is planned to open Dec. 19. Walgreens retail pharmacies at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and University of Miami Hospital are expected to open in January. Walgreens will also provide 90-day retail prescription benefits and specialty pharmacy services for the University's employees and their families.

"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, M.D., CEO of the University of Miami Health System. "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."

The 17 existing Walgreens Healthcare Clinics are planned to transition to the University of Miami Health System in the spring of 2017, at which time the clinics will become an extension of the UM Health System and be named UHealth Clinic - University of Miami Health System at Walgreens. Walgreens will continue to manage the retail clinics until that time.

UHealth Clinic at Walgreens will give consumers improved access to the transformative, research-based, personalized care provided by the University of Miami Health System. Staffed by UHealth's expertly-trained nurse practitioners, the UHealth Clinic at Walgreens locations will operate seven days a week, including evenings, giving patients the option to receive a variety of health care services with or without an appointment.

Patients across South Florida will have access to affordable and conveniently located clinics for treating common illnesses and injuries as well as for follow up care for chronic diseases when appropriate.

"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 vice president and chief healthcare 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."

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

"Building from this start, the University and Walgreens intend 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," added John Sory, UHealth's chief executive of the UHealth Regional Alliance. 

About Walgreens
Walgreens (www.walgreens.com), one of the nation's largest drugstore chains, is included in the Retail Pharmacy USA Division of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA), the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. More than 10 million customers interact with Walgreens each day in communities across America, using the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice. Walgreens operates 8,175 drugstores with a presence in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Walgreens omnichannel business includes Walgreens.com and VisionDirect.com. Approximately 400 Walgreens stores offer Healthcare Clinic or other provider retail clinic services.

About the University of Miami Health System
The University of Miami Health System delivers transformational patient care by the region's most comprehensive team of doctors, powered by the groundbreaking research and medical education of the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. As South Florida's only academic-based health care system, UHealth is a vital component of the community.

UHealth combines a superior approach to patient care, with research, education and academic excellence to create a personalized health care delivery system that is unparalleled. Patients at UHealth are treated as individuals and guided uniquely through their health care journey. Within the UHealth system, patients can participate in clinical trials and benefit from the latest developments that are fast-tracked from the laboratory to the bedside.

UHealth's comprehensive network includes three hospitals, more than one dozen outpatient facilities in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Collier counties, with more than 1,200 physicians and scientists. Its flagship facility, The Lennar Foundation Medical Center, opened December 2016 in Coral Gables, marking a new era in health care delivery that brings together the expertise of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, the University of Miami Health System Sports Medicine Institute and several other specialty services. Together with our affiliates, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Holtz Children's Hospital, and the Miami VA, UHealth stands ready to provide life-saving care to our region and beyond.

SOURCE University of Miami Health System