Walmart Health continues to grow its health clinic footprint with an expansion into Oklahoma next year.
The retail giant plans to open four new health centers in the Oklahoma City area. This is in addition to already announced plans to move into Missouri and Arizona in 2024. The company also aims to deepen its presence in Texas.
First launched in 2019, Walmart Health offers primary and urgent care, labs, X-ray and diagnostics, behavioral health, dental and hearing services all in one facility located next door to a Walmart Supercenter. The company has more than 30 locations in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Texas.
Beginning in January 2023, select Walmart Health centers in Florida and Georgia will also offer comprehensive value-based care to certain Medicare Advantage patients as part of a recent collaboration announcement between Walmart and UnitedHealth Group, according to the company.
By the end of 2024, Walmart will have 75 health locations, the company said.
David Carmouche, M.D., senior vice president of omnichannel care offerings, told Fierce Healthcare back in March that the size of the expansion highlights the positive response to Walmart Health.
"It's a pretty clear sign that we're getting good feedback," he said.
"Walmart Health exists to help Walmart customers live better by providing convenient access to affordable, high-quality healthcare services for both insured and uninsured Oklahomans alike … We are thrilled to announce the expansion of Walmart Health into Oklahoma next year,” Carmouche said in a statement.
"Knowing that access to comprehensive primary care, dental care, and behavioral health services is a challenge in many communities, it is our hope that this one-stop model will help solve this challenge for our neighbors in Oklahoma City. Providing these services in a place where many already live and shop and co-locating them by pharmacy and vision services and next to healthy foods in the Walmart grocery section is intentional. We can coordinate unique and impactful healthcare experiences," Carmouche said.
The expansion plans announced in March include six locations in the Phoenix metropolitan area and four locations in the Kansas City, Missouri, region, according to the retailer. In addition, Walmart Health will open 10 new locations in Dallas and eight in Houston.
Carmouche told Senior Editor Paige Minemyer that Walmart evaluates expansion locations based on a slew of factors, including the retailer's reach in a certain region as well as tracking access challenges to identify areas where the clinics can make the greatest impact on patients.
Oklahoma ranks 43rd in the nation for the number of physicians per capita. The retailers said it will hire locally for select positions including primary care physicians and dentists. Walmart operates more than 134 retail locations in Oklahoma.
The health centers in the Oklahoma City area will be approximately 5,750 square feet, located beside Walmart Supercenters, and will feature Walmart Health’s full suite of health services. These services may vary by location but include primary care, labs, X-ray and EKG, behavioral health, dental, hearing, select specialty services, community health and telehealth.
Walmart inked a partnership with health IT behemoth Epic back in 2021 to use its electronic health records system to connect records across all of its healthcare services, including virtual care. Epic's technology will eventually support all of Walmart’s health and wellness lines of business.
In February, the company announced a three-year partnership with CareSource to tackle health inequities. The partners will start in Ohio with a focus on cardiometabolic conditions and then expand to maternal and child health.