Walgreens Partners with MDLive to Expand Behavioral Health Services Nationwide

On May 10, Walgreens, the largest pharmacy chain in the United States, announced a partnership with telehealth provider MDLive in the field of behavioral therapy. Behavioral therapy is an umbrella term for a range of psychotherapeutic techniques aimed at improving patients’ symptoms or maladaptive behaviors. Through this collaboration with Breakthrough Behavioral, a company offering online behavioral therapy services (acquired by MDLive in late 2014), Walgreens has expanded its behavioral therapy offerings.

Breakthrough Behavioral offers patients the option of online face-to-face consultations. Patients can select a licensed professional physician on Breakthrough Behavioral based on their individual conditions and schedule an appointment with them. Patients can also filter specialists by criteria such as specialty and location, or post questions to interact with physicians in order to identify the most suitable specialist.

Through this partnership, Walgreens customers across all 50 U.S. states can access behavioral therapy services via the Walgreens website. Currently, only 20 states permit behavioral health specialists to prescribe medications to patients. The starting price for each behavioral therapy session is $60, with a portion of the cost eligible for insurance reimbursement.

Adam Pellegrini, Vice President of Digital Health at Walgreens, stated, “Providing a platform for providers and patients is the greatest challenge facing our mental health system. We are delighted to partner with MDLIVE to help those in need.”

In December 2014, Walgreens and MDLive partnered for the first time to provide telemedicine services. By November 2015, Walgreens had expanded this service to more than 20 states. Currently, MDLive provides medical access services to Walgreens customers in 37 states. The service is also being rolled out in other states, including Arkansas, Hawaii, Kentucky, and Massachusetts, among 13 states in total.

Users can access MDLive services through Walgreens’ website or mobile app, with each medical consultation priced at $49.

Last year, Pellegrini stated, “Since our initial collaboration with MDLive, our team has enhanced the user experience. Previously, users seeking consultations were required to separately download and install the MDLive app. We believe that a multi-app strategy is detrimental to both user experience and user stickiness.”