June 13, 2013
What Does MD Love Mean for Future Success of In-Store Clinics?
The negative reaction in-store clinics received from doctors when the concept first rolled out didn’t come as a big surprise. Perhaps the surprise, according to new research by Accenture, is that MDs may be changing their tune even as the number of in-store clinics appears set to double by 2015.
"Although primary care physicians and hospitals once regarded retail clinics as a business threat, in a post-reform landscape, they are viewed as critical to facilitating future growth," said Kaveh Safavi, M.D., J.D., managing director for Accenture’s North America health business, in a statement. "In fact, retail clinics will reduce capacity constraints by referring lower-acuity patients to clinics while ensuring hospitals have capacity for more complex cases."
According to Accenture, the number of clinics will ramp up as millions of newly insured patients hit the market courtesy of the Affordable Care Act. Not only will the increase in clinics take some of the pressure off of primary care physicians, it will also help save upwards of $800 million a year.
Retail clinics went through a growth spurt between 2003 and 2008, but that has stalled in recent years. Accenture expects the number of in-store clinics to go from the current number of 1,418 to 2,868 by 2015.
"Despite that initial growth of retail clinics was halted short of market expectations in 2009, healthcare reform will trigger a significant demand from millions of newly insured patients," said Dr. Safavi. "The convergence of retail convenience with walk-in care services will provide a ‘release valve’ for strained health systems as they handle the influx of new patients."
With more facilities to care for patients, Accenture projects 10 percent of non-primary care patient visits will go through clinics. In-store clinics, which served 5.1 million patients in 2011, will soon be taking care of 10.8 million a year.
In-store clinics with nurse practitioners have begun expanding the scope of services. Back in April, for example, Walgreens announced its Take Care Clinics would assess, treat and help patients manage chronic conditions including asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and hypertension in addition to its normal preventive services.
Today, CVS with its MinuteClinic division has the most in-store clinics (650) with plans to have some 1,500 in operation over the next four years. Walgreens with roughly 365 in-store clinics is a distant second. Others including Kroger, Target and Walmart are also opening clinics, but not nearly at the clip of the drug chains.
- U.S. Retail Health Clinics Expected to Double by 2015, According to Accenture – Accenture
- Retail Medical Clinics: From Foe to Friend? – Accenture
- Are Clinics the Key to Winning the Retail Healthcare Race? – RetailWire
- Will Walgreens Succeed Treating Chronic Illnesses? – RetailWire
- Take Care Clinics Expand Scope of Health Care Services to Include Chronic Condition Management and Additional Preventive Health Offerings – Walgreens
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Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Do you see clinics taking off as predicted with the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act? How important do you think in-store clinics will be to food/drug/mass operators in the years to come?
Poll
No, or more correctly, no with qualifications.
Many physicians and physician groups have analyzed the Affordable Care Act and already understand that—to maintain profits—they have to perform an “economic triage” on their patient populations. Put another way, not all patients are equally profitable to serve.
So, yes they will be happy to slough off those patients onto clinics, hospitals or anyone who will take them, but they will not be ready to divest higher profit, low time investment procedures.
Also, there’s the small problem of insurance and the statistically almost inevitable death caused by a clinic mishandle. One high profile case could kill a fledgling industry.
The truth is, doctors haven’t fully worked out the economics of the ACA. When they do, I’ll get back to you with a more definitive answer.
Maybe I’m just not getting it. I’ve seen so many of these clinics close or have a nurse sitting around reading a magazine. I’ve visited one twice for a minor ailment, only to be told I need to go to a real doctor. My doctor told me to always skip the retail clinics and just come in and see her. They now have deals with the insurance company that lets them match prices with the retail clinics. To me they are glorified hand holders.
I’m not so sure the Affordable Care Act will really insure more people. If someone doesn’t have the wherewithal to get insurance now, do we really expect them to later?
If the patient knows they have an issue that is treatable at the clinic, visiting the clinic may be helpful. The treatment provided by the clinics provide specific relief for specific issues; they are not an urgent care center where you can show up for any kind of treatment. The relationships between these clinics, a doctor’s visit, urgent care centers, and emergency rooms need to be more clearly defined and communicated to consumers to create efficiencies in the system.
Many doctor offices here already have nurse practitioners on staff so clearly MDs have realized the value of these professionals for their own businesses.
The in-store clinics we’ve visited locally have handled our family’s minor issues professionally and much more quickly than would have happened if we had to make an appointment to see a primary care physician. On top of the convenience, the cost of service is exactly the same since our health insurance plan is accepted.
If these clinics can get trial, I’d expect consumers to see the immediate value and return for future visits.This could be a significant selling point for food/drug/mass in the future as not only more people are covered with insurance, but the population ages and people seek out treatment for chronic conditions.
Here’s the thing about the ‘Doc in the Box’ units: they’re convenient. And there’s simply nothing else about health care that is convenient, so it’s massive.
Having 4 kids, I’ve used them a lot over the years. Yes, we have a pediatrician and a family doctor too, but sometimes (many times), you just need to find out if the kid has strep! Just do the test and give me the meds! If I go through my doctor process, it could take a week.
The real fun of this will start when they get competitive, then the consumer will really win.
I do not know that clinics will take off as predicted with the new health care reforms. What I do know is when you need care, and either away from home or on a weekend; it is good to know there is somewhere to go for other than acute emergencies. We have had the need to use these services on more than one occasion. The care and service have been good. Let’s agree it is a service and profit center on the rise.
Medical care in the U.S. is antiquated and to many communities sorely lacking—I’m not saying M.D.s, technology, or science, just the ability to treat and educate folks on preventive and basic care. In-store medical clinics have the ability to fill a need, but they need to be properly focused and promoted to the right consumers.
In-store clinics can be a critical service in building a strong consumer-retail brand relationship. However, until patient/consumer behavior is persuaded to change, clinics will be added value and will hold narrow strategic importance.
I’ve been to the in store clinics a couple times. I go when I know I have bronchitis and I just need a prescription. I’m in and out. It’s more of a place to go for a prescription, not real medical care.
Will the “Affordable Care Act” increase demand? It’s hard to say. Congress signed off on it 2 years ago and are just now finding out it requires up to 10% of your income to pay for. I don’t call that affordable. If Congressmen making $175k/yr think it’s unaffordable and want exemption, how “affordable” will it really be for your average employee or hourly employee. There are still too many unknowns in the “Affordable Care Act” to know anything yet.
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No, or more correctly, no with qualifications.
Many physicians and physician groups have analyzed the Affordable Care Act and already understand that—to maintain profits—they have to perform an “economic triage” on their patient populations. Put another way, not all patients are equally profitable to serve.
So, yes they will be happy to slough off those patients onto clinics, hospitals or anyone who will take them, but they will not be ready to divest higher profit, low time investment procedures.
Also, there’s the small problem of insurance and the statistically almost inevitable death caused by a clinic mishandle. One high profile case could kill a fledgling industry.
The truth is, doctors haven’t fully worked out the economics of the ACA. When they do, I’ll get back to you with a more definitive answer.
Maybe I’m just not getting it. I’ve seen so many of these clinics close or have a nurse sitting around reading a magazine. I’ve visited one twice for a minor ailment, only to be told I need to go to a real doctor. My doctor told me to always skip the retail clinics and just come in and see her. They now have deals with the insurance company that lets them match prices with the retail clinics. To me they are glorified hand holders.
I’m not so sure the Affordable Care Act will really insure more people. If someone doesn’t have the wherewithal to get insurance now, do we really expect them to later?
If the patient knows they have an issue that is treatable at the clinic, visiting the clinic may be helpful. The treatment provided by the clinics provide specific relief for specific issues; they are not an urgent care center where you can show up for any kind of treatment. The relationships between these clinics, a doctor’s visit, urgent care centers, and emergency rooms need to be more clearly defined and communicated to consumers to create efficiencies in the system.
Many doctor offices here already have nurse practitioners on staff so clearly MDs have realized the value of these professionals for their own businesses.
The in-store clinics we’ve visited locally have handled our family’s minor issues professionally and much more quickly than would have happened if we had to make an appointment to see a primary care physician. On top of the convenience, the cost of service is exactly the same since our health insurance plan is accepted.
If these clinics can get trial, I’d expect consumers to see the immediate value and return for future visits.This could be a significant selling point for food/drug/mass in the future as not only more people are covered with insurance, but the population ages and people seek out treatment for chronic conditions.
Here’s the thing about the ‘Doc in the Box’ units: they’re convenient. And there’s simply nothing else about health care that is convenient, so it’s massive.
Having 4 kids, I’ve used them a lot over the years. Yes, we have a pediatrician and a family doctor too, but sometimes (many times), you just need to find out if the kid has strep! Just do the test and give me the meds! If I go through my doctor process, it could take a week.
The real fun of this will start when they get competitive, then the consumer will really win.
I do not know that clinics will take off as predicted with the new health care reforms. What I do know is when you need care, and either away from home or on a weekend; it is good to know there is somewhere to go for other than acute emergencies. We have had the need to use these services on more than one occasion. The care and service have been good. Let’s agree it is a service and profit center on the rise.
Medical care in the U.S. is antiquated and to many communities sorely lacking—I’m not saying M.D.s, technology, or science, just the ability to treat and educate folks on preventive and basic care. In-store medical clinics have the ability to fill a need, but they need to be properly focused and promoted to the right consumers.
In-store clinics can be a critical service in building a strong consumer-retail brand relationship. However, until patient/consumer behavior is persuaded to change, clinics will be added value and will hold narrow strategic importance.
I’ve been to the in store clinics a couple times. I go when I know I have bronchitis and I just need a prescription. I’m in and out. It’s more of a place to go for a prescription, not real medical care.
Will the “Affordable Care Act” increase demand? It’s hard to say. Congress signed off on it 2 years ago and are just now finding out it requires up to 10% of your income to pay for. I don’t call that affordable. If Congressmen making $175k/yr think it’s unaffordable and want exemption, how “affordable” will it really be for your average employee or hourly employee. There are still too many unknowns in the “Affordable Care Act” to know anything yet.