From inking new partnerships with consumer retail companies to rolling out new pharmacies to expand its patient base, hospitals and health systems increasingly are looking at ways to build their consumer presence.
Here are five hospitals and health systems that have advanced their digital health retail strategies this year.
Baltimore-based LifeBridge Health partnered with Higi, a company that offers "smart" health stations at retail locations, in August to provide patients healthcare support in grocery and drugstores, the companies announced Aug. 19.
In July, Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente named Jenny Ming, former Charlotte Russe president and CEO, to its board of directors. In addition to leading Charlotte Russe for a decade, Ms. Ming previously led Old Navy for 20 years, including during its launch.
Jacksonville, Fla.-based Nemours Children's Health System in May began offering patients, visitors, employees and community members self-driving shuttles as a new means of transportation across its campus. Passengers also can take the vehicles on additional routes from the town center's hub to retail and dining businesses.
Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare opened a 3,000-square-foot pharmacy April 9, which features 2 1/2 times more space than the previous facility to expand the number of patients served in the system's retail and specialty pharmacy programs. The pharmacy also uses robots to fill its 200 most common prescriptions.
Medical West Hospital, a Bessemer, Ala.-based affiliate of Birmingham, Ala.-based UAB Medicine, in February launched a retail ambulatory-based pharmacy as part of a joint venture with ShiftRx, a pharmacy transformation company.