Wal-Mart to offer low cost e-health records

Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, has announced that it plans to start selling electronic health records to US doctors working in small practices.

The retail giant plans to shake-up the US healthcare sector by offering dramatically cheaper electronic health records than have previously been available.

It won’t offer electronic record systems in its stores but, from this spring, will be targeting physicians’ practices with bundled hardware, software, installation, maintenance and training.

Wal-Mart says it will offer the health information technology package to doctors for €18,450 ($25,000) – about half the price of technology now on the market. The move come hard on the heels of the €14 billion ($19 billlion) Congress approved in the stimulus bill to help doctors move to electronic records.

The company will specifically target small physician offices. In the US just 17% of small physician offices are currently estimated to be using electronic health records.

According to a New York Times report, the organisation – through its Sam’s Club division – will become a systems integrator, bundling hardware from partner Dell with software as a service from Massachusetts-based eClinicalWorks.

Wall-Mart has been at the front of e-health record developments for several years, previously pioneering the development of employee health records and benefit management systems. In October, it rolled out e-health records to all 1.4m of its employees and their dependents.

The company says on its website that “as part of its health care reform campaign, [Wal-Mart] is pushing for greater use of electronic medical records – and helping doctors pay for the upgrade”.

Since 2006 Wal-Mart has offered a list of around 350 generic prescription drugs priced at €3 ($4) for a 30-day supply. In February, this list became available to US physicians who subscribe to the web-based Epocrates service.

The retailer has also begun an ambitious programme of building walk-in medical clinics in some stores, with plans to open up 2,000 nationwide.