Rite Aid unit looks to integrate with care delivery ecosystem

PHILADELPHIA — Rite Aid Corp.’s RediClinic has allied with regional health care provider Aria Health, a move that will bring the retail clinic operator’s services to more people in the greater Philadelphia area.

Plans call for RediClinic and Aria Health to implement clinical integration initiatives that will facilitate collaboration between RediClinic practitioners and Aria Health-affiliated doctors.

Six RediClinics will be covered by the alliance, including locations inside Rite Aid pharmacies in Huntingdon Valley, Langhorne (two clinics), Philadelphia, Trevose and Warminster, Pa. The clinics will be co-branded with Aria Health.

“Since opening our first RediClinic in the greater Philadelphia area over just a year ago, we have been seeking ways to become more fully integrated into the existing health care delivery ecosystem,” RediClinic chief executive officer Web Golinkin said in a statement Tuesday. “We are excited about our new relationship with Aria Health because it will enable us to offer our patients access to a larger network of providers and a broader scope of services.”

Aria Health is the largest health provider in northeast Philadelphia and lower Bucks County, Pa., including three community hospitals and an expanding network of outpatient centers and physicians.

“We are pleased to be working with RediClinic and Rite Aid, as it will enable Aria to expand access to care in our community and explore innovations in service delivery,” stated Kathleen Kinslow, president and CEO of Aria Health.

In the Philadelphia area, RediClinic operates clinics in 18 Rite Aid drug stores. Overall, RediClinic has 43 clinics in select Rite Aid pharmacies in the greater Philadelphia, Baltimore/Washington D.C. (including Virginia and Delaware) and Seattle areas, as well as 35 clinics in H-E-B supermarkets in Houston, Austin and San Antonio, Texas.

The RediClinics in the Seattle area are operated under a joint venture with MultiCare Health System, a nonprofit health care group serving the Puget Sound region. Plans call for 11 RediClinics in that market.

RediClinics are staffed by board-certified nurse practitioners, who are trained and licensed to treat common conditions and provide preventive services in collaboration with physicians. Patients can be treated for more than 30 common medical conditions, and practitioners can write prescriptions for those conditions. RediClinic’s preventive health services include screenings, medical tests, immunizations and basic physical exams, along with its Weigh Forward weight/lifestyle management program.