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Walgreens Mental Health Initiative Expands Reach

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A year after Walgreens Boots Alliance expanded access to behavioral health treatment by adding an established mental health screening, most patients took “active steps for follow-up,” the drugstore giant said.

Walgreens and its partner, nonprofit Mental Health America (MHA), say nearly 75% of visitors to the drugstore giant’s mental health site who completed MHA’s free screenings are moving toward follow-up treatment. That’s important because patients with mental health needs are known to not seek treatment or medication even once they know their diagnosis, behavioral health professionals say.

“One of our primary objectives when first launching this program was to help meet the growing need for resources and access to care,” Walgreens chief medical officer Dr. Harry Leider said in a statement.

Mental Health America is helping the drugstore giant connect its customers to free community-based screenings for mental health conditions that include depression, anxiety and bipolar disorders. Walgreens is also working with Mental Health America and other experts in the field to improve training and education of its more than 27,000 pharmacists and more than 1,100 nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

Walgreens' update Tuesday on the expanding reach of its mental health initiative didn’t come with any financial figures. But the company is looking to expand later this summer, offering round-the-clock access to Walgreens pharmacists on MHA’s web site.

Increasingly, drugstore giants, including rival CVS Health , are pushing further beyond a pharmacy chain’s traditional role of dispensing and managing customer prescriptions. Fred's, Inc., which will buy at least 865 Rite Aid pharmacies should Walgreens' acquisition of Rite Aid win Federal Trade Commission approval, is transforming from its past heritage as a "Super Dollar" store to focus on personal healthcare.

Though no financial figures were released, Walgreens said its relationship with MHA is paying off. Data from the collaboration’s first year showed Walgreens customers were more likely to want a referral to someone who can help them at a higher percentage than those who went directly to MHA’s screening tools.

About one in five Americans suffer mental health conditions, which is more than those with medical conditions like diabetes and heart disease. But patient adherence to treatment is known to be worse for mental health conditions than physical illnesses, so Walgreens set out to expand access to its customer base, which includes two million people who come to the pharmacy chain’s digital properties that include the company’s web site and mobile app.

Of those Walgreens customers who took steps after they did the MHA screening, nearly one-third say they found treatment, 24% discussed results with family, friends or a health professional and about 20% sought additional information, Walgreens said. “We’ve seen a more diversified group of visitors to our site, including older generations and caregivers as well as people who have had a prior mental health diagnosis,” Mental Health America CEO Paul Gionfriddo said.

Walgreens and Mental Health America set a goal to screen three million people by the end of 2017 to improve care and patient awareness through their campaign. Executives said they have had a good response but weren’t prepared to provide an update with nearly eight months left in the year.

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