A four-year-old with a high fever used to prompt an immediate trip to the pediatrician by the extra careful parent. Today that emergency ride leads to the supermarket.
A JAMA Pediatrics study released in July found that 23 percent of parents have utilized a retail clinic for their child at least once. Most of those parents (75 percent) said they wanted to take their child to a pediatrician, but inconvenient hours and difficulty securing an appointment made it impractical. A related 2008 Deloitte survey found that senior citizens are far less likely to use a retail clinic than people 30 years of age or younger.
Retail clinics, also known as convenient care clinics, are located in pharmacies and supermarkets. The most common illnesses treated are sore throats, flu symptoms and ear infections, according to the study. The clinics are normally staffed by a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant. Both can legally diagnose and treat illnesses like a regular doctor once they have earned the proper training and credentials. A pharmacy technician verifies insurance and dispenses prescribed medications when necessary.
Growing In Numbers
There are approximately 1,200 retail clinics in the United States. But that number is expected to double by the year 2015, according to Accenture, a Dublin-based consulting firm. The Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” will obligate 40-plus million uninsured Americans to obtain medical insurance by the beginning of 2014. One Accenture researcher said that health care reform creates opportunities for retailers to open in-store clinics, which will help alleviate the inevitable glut of new patients seeking treatment from primary care physicians.
Walgreens, which has 370 retail clinics across the country, recently announced the re-branding of its clinics from “Take Care Clinic” to “Healthcare Clinic” effective immediately. The company will soon become a primary care option for potential patients and start managing chronic illnesses, according to Forbes. Wal-Mart, CVS and Kroger are also preparing for an influx of new patients at the beginning of 2014.
Controversy Swirls
Lower costs and convenience are driving patients to retail clinics. But some medical associations are not on board. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is one of the more vocal organizations opposing the clinics. AAP said via its website that retail-based medical practices are not the proper setting for medical care to be administered, particularly for young children and infants. The organization also points out fragmentation of care and the lack of proper training for retail personnel, which can lead to misdiagnoses. The JAMA Pediatrics survey found that almost 70 percent of patients diagnosed with the flu or a common cold were prescribed antibiotics, which goes against national medical standards.
Researchers say the findings in the JAMA study may not apply nationwide since all the surveyed clinics were in the St. Louis-area.