We're finally learning more about how Dollar General could take on the healthcare industry
- Dollar General unveiled plans in 2021 to become a health destination for people in rural areas.
- This month, the retailer said it began providing care at mobile clinics at three stores in Tennessee.
- Dollar General said it will evaluate whether to bring the clinics to additional stores.
In the 18 months since Dollar General unveiled plans to become a health destination for people in rural areas, details on its approach have been sparse.
But we just got a hint as to how the discount retailer plans to compete with CVS Health, Walmart, and other big retailers that are beefing up their healthcare strategies.
Dollar General just started delivering urgent and preventative care to customers in mobile clinics at three of its stores outside of Nashville.
The retailer has partnered with mobile clinic company DocGo to provide care for minor conditions including cold, flu, skin rashes, and urinary tract infections. The clinics, which take insurance and cash, can also give vaccines, health screenings and tests, and provide some care for chronic conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes.
In a January 11 news release, Dollar General said it will test how customers respond to the clinics to determine whether it should bring them to more stores.
Dollar General is among several large retailers hoping to carve out a bigger piece of the $4.3 trillion healthcare industry. CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Amazon are all pushing into providing primary care directly to customers.
Dollar General's healthcare push so far has been limited
Dollar General first said it wanted to expand access to healthcare services in rural communities in July 2021. It hired Dr. Albert Wu, a former McKinsey consultant, to spearhead the effort as the company's first chief medical officer.
So far, the chain's healthcare push has been limited. The company, which has been criticized for the lack of healthy foods in its stores, expanded the supply of healthcare products, such as cough and cold medicine, on its shelves. Dollar General's website says it has partnerships with Higi, a blood-pressure machine, and Babylon, a telehealth provider.
The mobile clinics mark the first effort to deliver care on site.
DocGo CEO Anthony Capone said in a presentation at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference on January 12 that Dollar General chose to deploy mobile clinics in its parking lots because its stores lack enough space for physical clinics.
Still, clinicians could send patients into the stores with coupons for medication or other products, Capone said.
"Somebody comes in and they have a rash, we look at that rash, we then can give them a coupon to go get calamine lotion and Benadryl inside of the store," he said.
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