Walgreens partners with Blue Shield to expand in-store health care services

Walgreens is expanding its health care offerings in select stores in California.

The pharmacy retailer is expanding its “Health Corner” concept to 12 Walgreens stores in Los Angeles County and San Francisco Bay area in association with medical insurer Blue Shield of California. The in-store spaces provides customers with access to qualified health personnel such as pharmacists and registered nurses who can assist them with a range of services, from preventive care and wellness checks to assistance with managing chronic conditions.

In California, the services are available at no additional cost to members of Blue Shield's commercial PPO and HMO plans, who live within 20 miles of a Walgreens Health Corner location. (Customers who aren’t covered by Blue Shield can also get select services from a Health Corner, but the offerings are more limited.) There are currently 12 Walgreens Health Corner locations available in the Bay Area and Los Angeles County, with an additional eight are planned by the middle of this year.

"Our Health Corner collaboration with Blue Shield will allow its eligible members and our customers to receive access to health and wellness products and services from Health Advisors whenever and wherever it's most convenient for them," said John Do, interim president and CFO of Walgreens Health. "This offering, alongside Walgreens Health strategic investments, is another example of how we are working to support patients and help them get and stay healthy across the entire care continuum."

To date, Walgreens has opened 48 Health Corners, including 36 in New Jersey. It expects to have 100 locations open by year-end. The initiative is part of a wider push by Walgreens into health care. Last year, the company acquired the majority stake of VillageMD, and currently operates 120 co-located Village Medical primary-care clinics. The company is looking to have at least 600 Village Medical primary care clinics at Walgreens locations in more than 30 U.S. markets by 2025, with a goal of1,000 by 2027.

[Read More: Walgreens Q4 tops estimates; launches new business segment focused on health care]