[NP-Clinical] Re: Retail Clinics

[Carla Anderson]

>From FierceHealth today...........per Meg/Portland, sent to list with her permission/Carla/Portland  1. Retail clinics keep advancing    Without a doubt, last year was an important year in the evolution of   the retail   clinic market, with chain drug stores, retail giants like Target and   WalMart,   and even grocery stores welcoming them on site.    Though retail clinics may not become a household word among consumers   this year,   players in this niche will make dramatic progress in 2007. This year   retail   clinics will move from novelties to strategic business extensions of   major   health players. Specifically, integrated health systems will begin   setting up   retail clinics as a new form of satellite feeder site. Also, emergency   departments building primary care diversion programs might consider it   wise to   set up on-site "retail" style clinics. For simplicity, hospitals may   still go to   existing retail clinic providers like MinuteClinic with a strong  
 connection to pharmacy dispensing and digital patient health records. If they   don't, they   still have the opportunity to avoid unneeded ED visits by situating a   low-fee,   physically attractive retail-inspired clinic which sees patients at   rates EDs   couldn't possibly match. What's more, the form of the retail clinic   model should   evolve, providing such additional services as laboratory testi  ng, basic diagnostic imaging and small, integrated pharmacy   inventories.    All told, expect the retail clinic model to strike much deeper roots in   2007. So   keep an eye on this industry, lest these clinics become competitors   rather than   sources of patient referrals.      
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