Giant Eagle Debuts In-Store Medical Treatment

PITTSBURGH, PA - When you go to select Giant Eagles, you’ll now be able to get medical treatment along with your meat, milk and English muffins. The supermarket chain has teamed up with UPMC and installed UPMC AnywhereCare kiosks in several Giant Eagle pharmacy areas.

How does it work? Anyone from the age of 3 (accompanied by a parent or guardian) can enter the kiosk for treatment of minor symptoms such as sore throats or earaches. They’ll be connected to a health care professional who will diagnose the symptoms and offer a treatment plan.

The kiosks will be available during regular pharmacy hours in participating Giant Eagle stores. They are available for all patients in Pennsylvania regardless of their insurance coverage.

The cost varies from nothing to $49 depending on the patient’s insurance coverage. Prescriptions are paid for separately by the patient and sent electronically to the patient’s chosen pharmacy.

Using the kiosk’s video camera, patients age 3 (with a parent or guardian) and older with a variety of non-urgent symptoms, ranging from sore throats to earaches, can be seen within minutes by a health care professional, who will assess the symptoms and recommend a treatment plan—just like in a traditional office visit. But the service is available virtually, without scheduling another stop at the doctor’s office. Clinicians can be contacted via the kiosks during regular pharmacy hours in participating Giant Eagle stores.

“Our partnership with Giant Eagle is one more way to make our high-quality care accessible to patients when and where they want it,” Natasa Sokolovich, UPMC executive director of telehealth, said in a statement.

Initially, the kiosks will be located at stores in:

• The Waterfront in Homestead.

• The Waterworks shopping center near Aspinwall.

• The Monroeville Boulevard store in Monroeville.

Giant Eagle officials said kiosks could be added to additional stores if the initial ones prove successful.

Photo via UPMC.

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