Drug chain continues expansion of telehealth offering

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens has launched an online skin care platform that includes a telehealth service for dermatological conditions.

Walgreens Skin Care Answers is offered via the drug chain’s website and its mobile app.

Available via Walgreens.com and the Walgreens mobile app, the skin care platform provides informational resources and extended skin care services, including the DermatologistOnCall teledermatology service through Iagnosis, which offers online dermatology consultations with U.S.-based, board-certified specialists.

At the Walgreens Skin Care Answers site, consumers can access information about common skin conditions such as acne and eczema from WebMD. They also can receive basic skin and product recommendations through Walgreens Pharmacy Chat, which offers live online chat conversations 24/7 with pharmacy staff.

Iagnosis’ DermatologistOnCall network of dermatology specialists can provide diagnoses and personalized treatment plans for more than 3,000 medical conditions affecting the skin, hair and nails, typically within 24 hours of the patient submitting their online visit, Walgreens said.

Users of DermatologistOnCall upload photos of their skin condition for diagnosis.

“This is another example of combining innovation and convenience to deliver tools and services that help deliver quality and affordable care to our customers anywhere, anytime,” Walgreens chief medical officer Harry Leider said in a statement. “The teledermatology offering and collaboration is a natural extension of some of the services we already provide and can serve as a resource for screening and potential early diagnosis of a variety of skin conditions.”

To use DermatologistOnCall, patients create an online profile and upload photos of their skin condition via the secure Iagnosis platform. They receive answers to medical questions and select care from a provider licensed in their state. The cost per online consultation is $59.

“We are very excited to announce this relationship with Walgreens, which has shown innovative leadership in embracing telehealth applications that deliver a high clinical quality standard to its customers,” stated Dave Zynn, chief executive officer of Pittsburgh-based Iagnosis, the nation’s largest dermatology-focused telehealth network. “Consistently, 98% of DermatologistOnCall patients say they’d recommend the service to a family member or friend, and we look forward to serving Walgreens customers as they look for solutions that support their health and well-being.”

Walgreens cited research finding that the average wait time for patients looking to see a dermatologist is nearly 29 days and, in some areas, can be longer than several months.

“More than 2 million people visit our digital channels each day,” commented Greg Orr, vice president of digital health at Walgreens. “This is another way we can help address access challenges by giving our customers more convenient channels and resources to meet their health care needs.”

The addition of DermatologistOnCall builds on Walgreens’ rollout of telehealth services. Last year, the drug chain expanded the availability of virtual doctor visits to about 25 states through its partnership with connected health provider MDLive and highlighted the service’s convenience.

DermatologistOnCall also is offered by Giant Eagle. The Pittsburgh-based food and drug chain began making the service available online this spring to customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.