Walgreens now connects you to video therapy for mental health issues

Walgreens has launched a new online portal for mental health, collecting together third-party guides and resources, as well promoting online screening tools provided by other companies. The drugstore has partnered with nonprofit Mental Health America (MHA) to create the new section on its website, and says its goal is to screen 3 million people for mental health issues by the end of 2017.

It's an ambitious figure, but the actual effort Walgreens is dedicating is less impressive. Its online guides and FAQs are articles reposted from WebMD, and its "free online screening tools" are links to preexisting questionnaires by MHA. Similarly, although the company says its site offers new "telehealth" solutions (aka, video chats with therapists), these are actually provided by a Florida-based company named MDLive.

Walgreens' site links to the company's service, named Breakthrough, where customers can chat with state-licensed psychiatrists and therapists on their computer or mobile device, with the average price for a session reportedly coming in at $60. Stock imagery on Walgreens' site (above) suggests that this video therapy is offered via the company's own app, but if so, it's currently not available.

It's obviously good that Walgreens is creating awareness about problems like anxiety and depression, but it's fair to say the company is merely collating existing information and services.

• ViaEngadget
• SourceWalgreens