By: Derek Dong
Walmart will soon be opening a new health clinic in the state of Georgia called Walmart Health in Georgia.
It also has a website for the new Walmart Health center where patients can set up online appointments. Walmart is currently testing how profitable this first clinic is and is looking to open up more in the future.
Another location, based in Dallas, Texas, is planning on taking in patients next month. The goal of the location is to provide patients with cheap, yet quality healthcare, including psychological care for mental health.
According to the official Walmart website, appointments for the clinic will be beginning on Sept. 13, with offerings for primary care, dental care, mental health counseling, healthcare labs, X-rays, and audiology, among others.
Currently, Walmart leads the healthcare industry and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the U.S.
For Walmart, primary care is an untapped market with great potential. But, it will put it in competition with another group of companies, ranging from large corporations like Walgreens to newer businesses like One Medical.
Luckily, the company already has a large consumer base with up to 140 million visits to their stories every week. The new healthcare clinics are most likely to benefit more rural areas where healthcare is not as efficient or plentiful compared to more metropolitan areas.
Although the healthcare industry is relatively new to Walmart, it already has several Care Clinics in Texas, South Carolina, and Georgia. The key difference though is that these were incorporated into retail stores, while the new health clinics are planned to have their own locations. Currently, the cost of appointments varies from 59$ to 99$.
While the healthcare industry is already a multibillion-dollar global ocean, Walmart, one of the biggest companies in the world, is finally looking to get their feet wet. Only time will tell if Walmart will sink or swim.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/29/walmart-is-piloting-health-clinic-at-walmart-health-in-georgia.html
