BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Sam’s Club plans to launch a health management service that helps members take a preventive approach to improving health and wellness.
The Walmart warehouse club chain said Wednesday that it will offer members The Prevention Plan from health care provider U.S. Preventive Medicine Inc. for $99.
According to the retailer, The Prevention Plan is a personalized, step-by-step health management program aimed at helping people maintain a healthy lifestyle. Club members purchasing the plan begin by taking an online health assessment and at-home blood test to identify potential individual health issues. Next, a customized plan is devised to address any health risks, with personal health coaching, ongoing support, a variety of tools and a planwide health challenge provided to keep members motivated.
Sam’s Club noted that The Prevention Plan builds on its free monthly health screenings that kick off in January. Screenings slated to be offered to club members during the year include a personal consultation with a pharmacist on their prescription drug medications, blood pressure checkups, bone density scans, body mass index (BMI) assessment, cholesterol and glucose tests, and hearing and vision testing.
"Through our member insights, we know our members want to stay in control of their health," Jill Turner-Mitchael, senior vice president of health and wellness at Sam’s Club, said in a statement. "We’re proud to offer these simple health solutions, including free health screenings along with great products like The Prevention Plan, so our members can maintain control of their health decisions, minimize health risks and keep health care costs low for their families, employees and themselves."
Christopher Fey, chairman and chief executive officer of U.S. Preventive Medicine, commented that the nation is shifting from "the reactive treatment of illness to the proactive preservation of health."
"The Prevention Plan provides the knowledge and tools to help individuals improve their health and well-being," Fey stated. "A recent study in Population Health Management shows The Plan has been successful in helping people significantly reduce important risk factors, including blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol and many others. We are pleased to make this program available to Sam’s Club members."
Sam’s Club recently has been stepping up its pharmacy offerings and health services. In the fall the retailer, which has over 500 pharmacies, launched Making Sense of Your Medications, an awareness campaign to promote patient consultations with a pharmacist to review their medications. The initiative included free prescription checkups for members and nonmembers.
And in the summer, Sam’s Club introduced a pharmacy satisfaction program and launched its Ready Reminders prescription pickup alert service. Under the satisfaction program, a $10 gift card was offered to current members and new pharmacy users in the event they are not completely satisfied with the pharmacy service. And through Ready Reminders, pharmacy customers are notified by text and phone when their medication is ready to be picked up, and they can ask that prescriptions be automatically refilled.
