As a healthcare services provider, Walmart is working to empower its customers with digital access to their health data, beginning with their COVID-19 vaccine record. Walmart will make vaccination records available digitally, so those vaccinated at Walmart and Sam’s Club can easily access their vaccine status as needed, in a safe, secure and frictionless way.
Enabling the fair and equitable access to health records so people control their own health data is a key element of empowering individuals. As such, Walmart will use the open, interoperable SMART Health Cards standard being developed under the Vaccination Credential Initiative, co-chaired by The Commons Project Foundation (TCP). Having convenient, safe, frictionless access to health records will be available to customers vaccinated at Walmart and Sam’s Club, including their vaccination records, through the Health Pass by Clear app and TCP’s CommonHealth and CommonPass apps.
These platforms are free to users who choose to use them in order to verify their vaccine status to safely return to travel, work, school, sports events, entertainment and other venues while protecting their health data privacy.
“Our goal is to give customers vaccinated at Walmart free and secure digital access to their vaccine record and enable them to share that information with third parties seeking to confirm their vaccination status,” said John Furner, CEO and president of Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart U.S. “We are proud to be the first retailer to strategically partner with both The Commons Project Foundation and Clear, and we look forward to working with them to empower people with digital access to their vaccination records so they can use them whenever and however they choose.”
Health Pass by Clear is a free mobile experience within the Clear app, which securely connects a person’s verified identity to multiple layers of COVID-19 related health information to reduce public health risk and make it possible for people to return to what they love. More than 50 organizations are currently using Health Pass to create safer and more frictionless environments. With Walmart, Health Pass users will soon be able to link to and use their vaccination results in a frictionless way.
“We are proud to partner with Walmart and The Commons Project and help Walmart customers better control, access and share their health and vaccine information. Working together, this partnership will help deliver a free and secure experience and get people back to what they love,” said Caryn Seidman-Becker, chairman and CEO of Clear.
TCP’s CommonHealth is a free Android app for people to collect and manage their personal health data and share it with the health services, organizations and apps they trust. TCP’s CommonPass is a free mobile app for people to access their COVID-19 test results and vaccination record from trusted health partners like Walmart and demonstrate their current health status so they can safely return to travel, work, school and life, while protecting their data privacy.
CommonPass is also being integrated with Clear’s secure identity platform to enable safe, easy, frictionless experiences at airports, workplaces, hospitality and entertainment venues.
“We applaud Walmart’s strong commitment to empowering customers with access to their health information using open standards,” said Paul Meyer, CEO of The Commons Project Foundation. “Not only can this help facilitate the safer return to normal life during COVID, empowering people with their health data can help improve the quality of the health services they receive in the future.”
Through a free digital account at Walmart and Sam’s Club, customers will have access to their prescription history and other health care information from Walmart. This information can also be provided in paper form at their local Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacy.
How it works:
- Individuals will create a free digital account on the Walmart or Sam’s Club app to schedule an appointment to receive a vaccination;
- If an individual chooses, they can also download the Clear, CommonHealth or CommonPass app, create an account and join their services for free;
- Individuals sign into their Walmart or Sam’s Club account and agree to share their vaccination history with the verification app they have chosen; and
- Individuals will then authenticate their vaccine status with Walmart or Sam’s Club account credentials in the verification app they’ve chosen.
Clear, CommonHealth and CommonPass apps can be downloaded now and will soon be able to validate Walmart vaccine credentials in real-time at locations
To enable this technology, Walmart and Sam’s Club have created systems that will allow vaccine status to be stored within the company’s proprietary apps and also interface with secure third-party apps. This effort is the latest in the company’s commitment to quality and accessible health care via trained pharmacists in more than 5,400 pharmacies, a simple and easy process for immunizing patients in all pharmacies, including COVID-19 vaccinations and caring follow-up to help ensure patients have what they need in today’s world.
