Exceptional Patient Experience Delivered at Take Care Clinics Located at Select Walgreens

08.24.10

—Clinics Rank in Top 10 Percent of All Organizations Gallup Measures Globally In Engaging Patients and Customers—

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA — August 24, 2010 — Take Care Health Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walgreens (NYSE, NASDAQ: WAG) and the nation�s largest and most comprehensive manager of convenient care clinics and worksite health and wellness centers, was founded six years ago on the philosophy of putting patients first and delivering an unprecedented patient experience. A new study has confirmed that the company is succeeding in this mission. Gallup�s leading research on customers and customer engagement found Take Care Clinics rank among the top 10 percent of all organizations globally in engaging their customers.

Take Care Clinics are walk-in, professional health care centers located at select Walgreens drugstores across the country. Board-certified family nurse practitioners and physician assistants treat patients 18 months and older and are licensed to write prescriptions when necessary that can be filled at the patient�s pharmacy of choice. Take Care Clinics are open seven days a week, with extended evening and weekend hours. The first Take Care Clinic opened in 2005 as a relatively new concept in delivering health care which was designed from the ground up to offer patients high-quality care in a simple and easy fashion.

�Take Care Clinics are built entirely around the patient, with the goal of delivering high-quality, affordable and convenient health care on the patient�s terms,� said Sandra F. Ryan, RN, MSN, CPNP, FAANP and Chief Nurse Practitioner Officer for Take Care Health Systems. �Our nurse practitioners and physician assistants are committed to making sure every patient leaves our clinics with not just a good experience, but a great experience. Gallup�s results validate the mission we set out to achieve and confirm that we are on point in not only delivering quality care to our patients, but in delighting them at every interaction.�

Take Care Clinic�s data consistently stands out:

  • Take Care Clinic received the highest satisfaction ratings from more than nine out of every 10 patients, compared to the typical company in Gallup�s database that receives the highest satisfaction from just one in every three customers.
  • More than nine out of every 10 patients strongly feel that the nurse practitioner or physician assistant spends enough time with them, and a similar number strongly feels that the nurse practitioner or physician assistant carefully listens to them and explains things in a way that is easy to understand.
  • Take Care Clinic strongly engages more than three out of every four. The typical company in Gallup�s database strongly engages less than one in five of their customers.

�In today�s consumer-driven health care environment, engaging patients is far more powerful than simply satisfying a patient. Not only is satisfaction a poor indicator of future behavior, but more importantly engagement may be predictive of a patient�s willingness to make changes necessary to improve their health,� said John Fleming, Gallup principal and chief scientist customer engagement. �Take Care Clinic�s commitment to delivering an outstanding and engaging patient experience is clearly evident in their world-class results.�

More than 50,000 Take Care Clinic patient respondents have been captured to date via on-site kiosks at more than 350 clinic locations. Gallup validated these results through a nationwide, random outbound phone study. Results of that study indicate that the on-site kiosk data provided an accurate portrait of Take Care Clinics� patient-engagement performance.

The research is based on a measure of customer engagement Gallup has developed that quantifies the strength and nature of a customer�s connection to a company. Gallup�s metric assesses the critically important emotional bonds of confidence, integrity, pride and passion that reflect a company�s customer relationships. Gallup has found that without a strong emotional bond, satisfaction is meaningless.

�Take Care Clinic believes that an engaged patient leads to better adherence,� said Ryan. �If a patient believes in the provider who is giving the advice, they are more likely to follow the treatment protocol that has been put together. This includes taking medication as prescribed, seeking follow-up care or making a lifestyle change. The patient is also more likely to return to a Take Care Clinic because of the great experience and care received.�

For more information on Take Care Clinics or to find the nearest location, visit www.takecarehealth.com or call 1-866-Take-Care.

About Take Care Health Systems
Take Care Health Systems (www.takecarehealthsystem.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of Walgreens (NYSE, NASDAQ: WAG) and part of Walgreens Health and Wellness division, is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health and wellness centers and convenient care clinics in the country. TCHS is comprised of Take Care Consumer Solutions (www.takecarehealth.com) and Take Care Health Employer Solutions (www.takecareemployersolutions.com). Take Care Consumer Solutions manages Take Care Clinics at select Walgreens drugstores throughout the country. Patient care at each of the Take Care Clinics is provided by Take Care Health Services, an independently owned state professional corporation established in each market. Take Care Health Employer Solutions manages primary care, health and wellness, occupational health, pharmacy and fitness centers at large employer campuses. Combined, Take Care Health Systems manages more than 700 worksite and retail health care centers.

Key Contact:

Gabe Weissman
484-351-3040
gabriel.weissman@takecarehealth.com
for Take Care Health Systems
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