A recent New York Times article reveals that Wal-Mart Stores are entering into a new service sector aimed at improving and streamlining patient care. This story is a great example of how products, services and distribution systems can be mashed up in new ways to solve big problems.

President Obama’s administration has proposed using $19 billion in incentives from the stimulus package to help physicians to adopt digital medical recordkeeping. Presently, only about 17 percent of US physicians are using computers to keep patient records – most still use paper.

Nearly three-fourths of physicians work in small practices, where the price of installing and maintaining a full digital medical records system is much too high. Wal-Mart, via it’s Sam’s Club brand, recently announced plans to offer a turnkey solution that involves them partnering with Dell Computers and eClinicalWorks , a software company that specializes in digital medical records software packages.

Under the plan, physicians will put the digital medical records software package in their Sam’s Club shopping cart alongside their giant container of pickles. Once purchased – presumably with help from the stimulus package money – Dell will provide the practice with either a desktop or tablet computer and eClinicalWorks will load, optimize, and maintain the software, as well as provide training. The cost of the package is projected as being $25,000 for the first physician and $10,000 for each additional physician in the practice. This is significantly cheaper than other similar software packages on the market.

If this venture is successful, Wal-Mart and its partners will be directly responsible for enabling physicians nation-wide to keep better, transferable patient records that should have a direct impact on the quality of care for patients.

It’s a big step in a new direction for the world’s largest retailer, but they hope that their experience in moving massive volume at a low price will help physicians and patients step into the 21st century technology world. According to the software vendors who sell the records systems, it’s just not cost effective for them to reach small physician offices in remote areas. This is where Wal-Mart’s massive distribution network comes in. This is a great example of combining what two companies do best in order to create an easy-to-buy solution for the customer.