Buzzword: Retail health clinics

What does it mean? Retail health clinics—also known as convenient care clinics, mini clinics or in-store clinics—are small health-care facilities located in drug stores, grocery stores or big retailers like Target and Wal-Mart. They provide simple, nonemergency services to walk-in patients, regardless of insurance status. They are much cheaper than a traditional doctor's visit because they're generally staffed by nurse practitioners and/or physicians assistants. Retail health clinics have extended hours including nights, weekends, and sometimes even holidays. They charge a set price for common services, everything from sports physicals to treating ear infections. Currently, there are about 1,000 such clinics in the United States, according to the Convenient Care Association, but that number is expected to increase to as many as 1,500 by the end of this year.

Why the buzz? Back in July, Summer Kartchner was hiking in the mountains near Salt Lake City when a bee stung her on the hand. That night her entire hand began to swell and by Saturday morning she knew she needed to have it looked at. It hurt but she didn't think it was bad enough to justify a trip to the emergency room or a clinic, so she decided to try a retail clinic that had recently opened in her local grocery store. Summer got her hand examined within a few minutes and was prescribed an antibiotic to treat the sting. The whole thing took less than an hour and cost just $35, and even that was quickly reimbursed by her health insurance. "It is rare to have such a positive experience with healthcare on both the provider and insurance side," she says.

Not everyone is sold on retail health clinics, though. The powerful American Medical Association is pushing state and federal regulators to investigate potential conflicts of interest posed by joint ventures between store-based health clinics and pharmacy chains. AMA also wants stricter state regulations on retail clinics.

Supporters of retail clinics, like the Convenient Care Association, say they help take pressure off primary care physicians and emergency rooms by taking care of simpler cases and that retail health clinic services are limited to routine physicals and simply treated illnesses and injuries, referring more complicated cases to traditional health care providers. Supporters also say retail health clinics empower consumers by providing additional transparency, convenience and choice.

The Federal Trade Commission recently weighed in on the situation after the Illinois State Medical Society pushed for tighter regulations on retail health clinics there. Reacting to the proposed legislation's plan to increase regulation of retail clinics by requiring permits, curb their advertising and require more physician involvement, the FTC wrote the bill could "harm health-care competition and the emergence of new clinics—without providing countervailing benefits for Illinois healthcare consumers."

Essential Information

Consumer Reports Retail Health Clinics Overview

Consumer Reports Shopping Blog – Retail Health Clinics

American Medical Association on Retail Health Clinics

Convenient Care Association White Paper

New England Journal of Medicine on Retail Health Clinics

—Bob Williams, strategic resource director, Consumers Union

Comments

[Steve Stripling]

It is very unlikely that in 24hrs after a bee sting this patient needed antibiotics. This is a perfect example of a practitioner with no ability to have follow up who feels the need to "do something" so the patient feels like they got their money's worth. With a medical home, an experienced health provider can discuss the simplicity of a simple local reaction, treat with suppportive care and know the patient will call in several days if true cellulitis develops.

[Liz]

I like retail clinics. My family was uninsured when I was in high school, and I got a lot of physicals and vaccines from the local walk-in clinic, which has since closed.

Here in Massachusetts, there's severe doctor shortage. I volunteer in an ER, and a lot of people come in with problems that should be handled at a doctor's office, like x-rays, strep tests, UTI tests, and rashes, but they have to wait weeks for a doctor's appointment. Two years ago, when I was between primary-care physicians, I had to go to the ER for a strep test. I would have loved to go to a wlak-in clinic and waited 10 minutes, instead of 3 hours.

[Abby]

Why is that that the doctors always assume that someone else does not know what they are doing? How could you be so sure the patient did not need antibiotics? Have you been there and examined the patient? Yes, it is rare that someone will need antibiotics after 24 hrs. But how do you know this case?
This is just sickening the way some doctors are so full of themselves, but actually get sued more than all NP's and PA's combined!
They keep boosting about their education, so how come they miss so many times?