10 Reasons In-Store Clinics Will Succeed

From the Witchita-based Flint Hills Center for Public Policy's recent study "Adding Health Care to Your Shopping List: The Emergence of In-Store Clinics":

Kansas is one of many states across the country considering ways to reform its health care system. With the number of uninsured a top concern, the debate centers on how to provide care for those who lack coverage. Too often, unfortunately, policymakers assume that government solutions are the only answers to reforms. Ignoring private sector opportunities to enhance access to health care is a mistake.

In-store health care clinics are popping up across the nation and offer a private sector solution to some of the growing concerns of policymakers.

Based on the study, I was able to put together the Top Ten reasons that private-sector retail clinics are a great alternative to government health care:

1. These clinics offer basic acute care services, as well as preventative care options.
2. They offer clear price transparency with posted lists of services and prices and often accept insurance.
3. For the uninsured particularly, these clinics offer an alternative to emergency room visits or untreated symptoms.
4. In-store health care clinics are conveniently located in pharmacies and stores making them particularly attractive for individuals who live in rural areas, areas with doctor shortages, or for virtually anyone with a busy schedule.
5. The clinics are open extended hours into the evenings, weekends, and holidays making it easier for working families to get care.
6. The clinics are often paired with pharmacies, which makes it convenient to get prescriptions filled in one stop.
7. These private-sector clinics provide people seeking treatment an alternative to emergency rooms and government-run clinics.
8. They empower people to take control of, and responsibility for, their own health needs.
9. In-clinics offer an excellent opportunity for health care reform.
10. Retail clinics now operate in a very competitive marketplace with many other retail health care clinics (e.g. Kroger (KR), Walgreens (WAG), CVS (CVS), Target (TGT) and Wal-Mart (WMT)) and "competition breeds competence." 

Hat Tip: NCPA

The Flint Hills Center must be happy about this story in yesterday's Witicha Eagle: Walgreens confirmed it will open three Take Care Health Clinics in Wichita by the end of July, with another two slated to open by the end of the year. The drugstore giant becomes the first national retailer to bring its in-store, walk-in clinics to the Wichita market, beating out other retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kroger and Target, which are launching similar clinics in other states.

Update (from an anonymous comment):

• Emergency Rooms can offer better, faster care of emergency cases when non-emergency cases are taken to a clinic at Wal-Mart or Walgreens.
• Many patients have conditions like diabetes or take medication like Warfarin that require frequent monitoring. Improved monitoring reduces the number of complications that can result in hospitalization.
• Full-time workers and small business owners will not have to choose between taking 2 hours off work and their responsibilities on the job.
• Early detection and improved health outcomes. Met a gentleman recently who had not been able to see to drive. He was diagnosed with advanced cataracts at Wal-Mart and referred to a surgeon. His words seem to sum it up: "I never thought I would have anything to thank Wallmart for."

Comments

[c smith]

all the things the current system isn't...cheap, transparent, convenient and non-bureacratic...it might work!!!

[madmilker]

27 reasons they won't...
1. Wal-Mart is now Wal*Mart
2. Wal-Mart is proper English in America
3. Wal-Mart is losing business
4. Sam Walton didn't take the hyphen out of the name.
5. Wal-Mart is "not" in Germany.
6. Wal-Mart is "not" in South Korea.
7. Wal-Mart sells cheap crap and America is addicted.
8. Wal-Mart ain't the only store in your town.
9. Wal-Mart stock price has been "flat" for six years.
10. Wal-Mart CEO got $22 million bonus for doing nothing.
11. Wal-Mart paid pumpers can't pump up a lead balloon.
12. Wal-Mart(1 store)takes in $500,000 to $800,000 each day.
13. Wal-Mart kite flies monies out of every town at 00:15
14. Wal-Mart sold $1.96 billion in bonds to buy back stock.
15. Wal-Mart buying back stock trying to prop price up.
16. Wal-Mart Insiders sold stock last month.
17. Wal-Mart is not a growth stock.
18. Wal-Mart has no layaway.
19. Wal-Mart has no Bank in the United States of America.
20. Wal-Mart doing something right....staying out of Manhattan.
21. Wal-Mart gonna sell another $2 billion in bonds to prop the price up but it ain't gonna work either!
22. Wal*Mart is not Wal-Mart.
23. The ghost of Sam Walton is looking for the person that took the hyphen from the name and replaced with a big single star.
24. Project Red turned yellow in front of the SEC!
25. Having to borrow $15 billion to buy Helen's estate shares as they are dump on the open market.
26. And having to borrow another $2.5 billion to pay bills...with the yuan going up in value and the US dollar still going down....all that China crap ain't so cheap any more ....to bad they don't buy American made for the American stores and keep the US dollar working at home.....but they only do that in China at buying 95% Chinese items for the China stores....duh! no wonder the yuan is going up in value....it's staying in China and working for the people there....all the while the people in America send the US dollar to a foreign land....they just don't understand what made America a super power wus the American people working their butt off making stuff and until they quit thinking cheap crap and start thinking...made in America....it's only gonna get worse...how sad!
27. Wal-Mart, cannot, will not, never will be, no way, never can be number #01 in anything but..........to glorify the star above their door are that person would had never put it there in the first place.

quote***In China, as elsewhere, we follow the Wal-Mart tradition of building our business one store and one customer at a time. We strive to provide our customers with friendly service and a wide selection of quality products at Every Day Low Prices. With each Wal-Mart store we bring advanced retail know-how to the local market. By fostering a healthy, competitive environment, we hope to constantly improve our business operations and customer service in order to contribute to the prosperity of the local economy.

Wal-Mart firmly believes in local procurement. We recognize that by purchasing quality products, we can generate more job opportunities, support local manufacturing and boost economic development. Over 95% of the merchandise in our stores in China is sourced locally. We have established partnerships with nearly 20,000 suppliers in China. At Wal-Mart, we always work with our suppliers to grow together. In August 2007, Wal-Mart once again secured the top spot of the 2007 Supplier Satisfaction Survey conducted by Business Information of Shanghai. Additionally, Wal-Mart directly exports about US$9 billion from China every year. The export volume by third party suppliers is also estimated to be over US$9 billion.***end quote!
Now! if there be 182 country's making items for the world to buy and they have only 5% of the pie in China...duh! This company makes the nice people of China support their currency(yuan) by keeping it in their country working for the people there.... but with the "yuan" going up in value and the US dollar going down...all the foreign items that the American consumer buys thinking it is cheap has went up in price. People...its all about the currency and to keep a currency strong you got to keep it floating around the country you live in so it can work for you. For the past 12 years all them US dollars are being shipped overseas to a foreign bank and with the American worker not making anything for the foreigner to buy the "we the people" have to turn to the "second" largest employer in America(Uncle Sam) to sell "we the people" debt in order to get all them dollars back! 50 years ago a foreigner would had given their left nut for a US dollar or a Hershey's chocolate bar and today the same foreigner has got Uncle Sam and the American consumer by both all the while Hershey is moving the chocolate factory to Mexico. Wakeup! America and think "MADE IN AMERICA" and put the word Washington back in D. C.....Washington had been reelected unanimously in 1792. His decision not to seek a third term established a tradition that is now embedded in the 22d Amendment of the Constitution. Read his Farewell Address of Sept. 17, 1796 and think American made for a change.

[adan]

the in store clinic seems like a good enough idea to keep an eye on and an ear open re feedback from people who might use one

it's something we hope will work

disclaimer: just a potential customer's view; no individual stock owned in anything retail right now

[bearfund]

It's exactly the kind of thing I'd be buying hand over fist if not for the sure knowledge that the federal government were about to make a complete hash of health care in America at every possible level.

[rjames]

Retail clinics will only succeed if they are run by an established health system where individuals are already established within that system. Continuity of care is critical. The biggest falacy is that it helps the uninsured. (Yes but only the individuals with small problems who have the money to pay for the service) What happens to that uninsured man who finds out he has cataracts at the wal-mart clinic? Where is he going to go from there?

Therefore, Wal-Mart, CVS, and Walgreens are much better off pairing with a local health system simply to garner the necessary traffic to support themselves. (Such as Mayo Health System, Harvard Health system, etc.) Retail clinics are not succeeding where they are needed most, underserved poor areas. These individuals could not afford the basic services no matter how cheap they are. Therefore most of the successful walk in clinics are located in surburbs. (Where most of the people already have ins)

I know of too many incidents where patients end up paying more because they go to these non health system affiliated clinics (minute clinic, NOW Care) with problems they are not qualified to treat. by having the NP part of the health system and the patient in the system he or she can better direct them to either their primary care doctor or urgent care / emergency room.

I also know of many primary care clinics that are now fighting back with better hours, (open Sat & Sun), open scheduling, and a number of new services. One even put a minute clinic out of business. Why go to a minute clinic when you have the ability to see your doctor or go to an urgent care?

So the best thing that has come from the clinics is that primary care (Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine) are now becoming more competitive and offering hours and services that the public needs and wants.

If only we could get to a point where all health care was POS (point of sale), But so long as Medicare and Medicaid cost shift onto those of us who are insured we will continue to have to pay much higher healthcare costs. I know if we went to a POS system you could then get a 30 minute appt for probably 50% less than you are paying now. (But that would mean higher costs for medicare and medicaid patients..........ther... it will never happen)

[Quiact]

Quick When You’re Sick

Recently in the media, issues have been addressed regarding the specialty of primary care or family practice doctors and the shortage of them in the U.S. In summary, reasons for the shortage that exists are due to the specialty not being that profitable for a doctor compared with other specialties. As a consequence, the doctors view the specialty as not a desirable choice apparently quite often, although the specialty is greatly needed in the health care system and for the public health.
As a layperson, I view primary care as ultimately a specialist in nothing in particular, yet knowledgeable in a large variety of medical areas, which I believe, makes them very valuable to those patients seeking restoration of their health. Furthermore, there is a comfort level with those in this specialty compared with other specialties, one could speculate. So the shortage of primary care doctors is in fact disappointing. Perhaps most disappointing is the atrophy of the doctor-patient relationship unique with such doctors.
Yet one possible solution is what is known as retail care clinics, and their popularity was increasing not long ago for a variety of reasons. And their eventual need has yet to be determined and is only speculated by others at this time. Of particular note of most of these types of clinics is that are normally staffed with nurse practitioners, who are, like doctors, more thorough than others, but are favored by many as a vocation and sought as treatment providers progressively.
First, I’ll offer a definition of a retail clinic: A retail clinic is a medical treatment facility that is usually located in a convenient location, such as a shopping area, and are smaller than most doctors’ offices in regards to geographical space. Usually, these clinics are staffed with a nurse practitioner that often have the ability and authority to provide the same quality care as a primary care physician, and do so with the same standards regarding accountability and autonomy. If you happen to go to one for what may be considered a mild ailment, for example, for such conditions as allergies or the flu, you will notice a unique and pleasant paradigm towards your care at such a clinic in comparison with present medical offices that are possibly demoralized if not largely apathetic:
These urgent care light clinics are normally and amazingly quick for a patient treated at such a location. You are normally in and out of there within a half hour or so. This includes a thorough assessment and treatment regimen offered. Unlike typical doctor offices, these clinics are walk-in clinics, so there is no over-booking of patients, which is what typically occurs at current offices of doctors, as many are focused on daily volume of patients, as they are usually a member of a large health care system that instructs these offices in such a way.
With these convenience care clinics, you actually dialogue with your health care provider more so than you have experienced in a traditional doctor’s office due to other doctor offices often being incredibly busy from seeing too many patients during a typical day for reasons described above. And this is not to imply that the health care providers at typical doctor offices do not care about you and one’s particular health issues, yet possibly is due to limited resources, possibly.
The cost of going to such a retail clinic, which is sometimes termed an ‘urgent care light’ clinic or convenience care clinic, that have already been mentioned, is usually about ¾ or less than the cost of a typical primary care doctor visit, I understand
You will likely notice no decline in the quality of care that you receive. In fact, likely you will experience greater quality on many different levels, both on a personal and clinical level, yet this premise lacks certainty due to the many variables involved.
Critics of such clinics include the American Medical Association and various medical societies, yet in my opinion, they are simply vexed because of the invasion of these clinics on their turf and their infiltration into their group without being invited, perhaps.
If it is discovered that you need greater medical care or attention than the retail clinic can provide for you during your visit at their urgent care light clinic, you will most likely be referred to a nearby location that can provide the care you are determined to need by the clinic’s heath care provider, who has likely has some familiarity and possibly some relationships with the hospitals and others in the medical community for which they serve.
So most patients of these retail clinics are pleased with the care they receive from them, which is why they continue to grow in number under different names, as they have become franchises, yet the concept of this pay as you go health care is fairly new, only the future will tell if this method is preferred by those seeking minor restoration of their health.
These retail clinics, it appears, provide possibly provide a response to the shortage of primary care doctors that some believe exist, and possibly are an answer to other problems that exist in the health care system in the U.S., which includes wait time and frequent distant relationships from their other health care providers. One could conclude that the retail clinics seem in a way more authentic than the dominant structure, and may be more beneficial ultimately for the public health, with exceptions, of course.
Dan Abshear
“Compassion is the basis of all morality.” --- Arthur Schopenhauer
Author’s note: What has been written is based upon information and belief