What we once thought about the delivery of and access to healthcare in America is thankfully in our rear view mirrors. For years it has been purported that “consumers were in charge of their own health.” Finally, thanks to retail clinics, wearables, a glut of information, a reshaped ecosystem and better self-care choices, this has become reality.

Retailers wishing to gain traction must recognize all aspects of health, wellness and prevention sought by consumers and provide holistically-integrated solutions. Furthermore, because every individual’s health journey is unique, their point of entry into seeking healthcare must be seamless and accessible.

Some retail businesses are good candidates for integrating healthcare into their strategy. For years there have been pharmacies in retail stores. Expanding the services seems reasonable. How far they can expand? That’s yet to be seen. Too far and the retailer could lose their identity.

I see the retail healthcare industry growing because those who have no insurance or insurance plans with high deductibles will always look to save money. The FDA is continuing to allow more OTC drugs and devices, most recently they approved OTC hearing aids. So it’s smart for retailers to invest in building up this area. Moreover, we will see more local clinics with facilities competing which will help the customer further by keeping costs down. My only concern is that we do not sacrifice quality which will be very difficult because usually with price competition quality begins to suffer.

Let us hope that they can. Healthcare is mired in bureaucracy, old-fashioned thinking, red-tape and a model that puts the patient last in so many considerations. Retailers, for all their faults, are extremely customer-centric. Their entry into this market could be just the shot in the arm that healthcare needs!

I see it as less a competitive battle between established medicine and retail and more as the continuation of opening new opportunities to provide accessible care to patients, be the providers retailers or hospitals/clinics/medical groups.

Retail has been in the lead; there are now over 1,120 minute clinics in CVS stores and somewhere around 400 to 500 in Walgreens outlets. Supermarkets too are participating (Kroger, for example, operates well over 200 Little Clinics), and they certainly do have the resources to provide clinics, prescriptions and nutrition management. Urgent care facilities and operations like Great Expressions open up even more accessibility, they provide different services from retail-based healthcare offerings. I believe that there is plenty of room to grow for everybody.

This is not just about existing retailers jumping into this space but also clinics popping up that look like retailers. I won’t bore you with my ailments but needless to say, I have to have my blood panels done every month. Currently I have to make an appointment with my doctor, go in and wait and then have my blood work done and sent out for a ridiculous amount. And you ask what’s wrong with our healthcare? Its not so much about how many payers there are as it is about the way things work and all at the expense of the patient. Wouldn’t it be nice to hop into a local, convenient “store” to get this done? And to be able to pick up items that you might need related to your condition(s)? This is a great place for retailers to start looking at new services and opportunities. For my 2 cents.

The massive food and healthcare industries touch every individual, yet are largely disconnected. The opportunity to bring together nutrition and health at a deeper level yields major benefits for the entirety of the value chain. Customers are generally ready and open for this kind of service — it’s just a matter of retailers being more willing to step into the space as well as technology service providers that enable them to unlock that value.

I see a terrific opportunity for food retailers to position themselves as the “health & wellness” providers. Unfortunately, they allowed the chain drug stores to own this positioning. With renewed interest in convenient healthcare, food retailers may now have the opportunity as well as they have permission to become major players in this space. How? By delivering on the healthful aspects of food and diet to one’s health & lifestyle.

Offering dietary advice, wellness screenings, healthy cooking classes, incentives for exercise, etc. would allow them to make inroads here without a lot of CAPEX spending.

Retail pharmacy brands were the first to recognize broader healthcare services as a competitive differentiator, as evidenced by the success of CVS Minute Clinics. We see grocery retail as well positioned to capture much more healthcare-related market share, though most don’t yet recognize the opportunity at hand.

One super-regional grocery chain with a clear focus on healthcare services is Des Moines, IA-based Hy-Vee. The employee-owned company offers a comprehensive slate of wellness services for customers, families and businesses to tap into, including dietitians, on-site flu clinics, diabetes education programs, pharmacist-led smoking cessation, and several other services.

Hy-Vee recently announced plans to operate orange theory fitness centers as part of their healthy living/healthy communities initiatives. These types of creative moves make them distinct in customers’ minds. In order for retailers to gain more traction around healthcare services, they need to be thinking holistically, with a commitment to customer convenience.

YES THEY CAN. Three areas of impact:

1. They know consumer behavior better than healthcare in general. Traditional Healthcare still talks in terms of the Patient Journey. But some are moving upstream to realize there is still a decision path to making decisions on what providers/payers to work with. Retail already gets that perspective.

2. Retailers can be more nimble and flexible in their delivery of basic healthcare services that large-scale healthcare organizations will struggle to provide. And really, should a large organization be straddled with flu shots and colds? If we can tie the patient records together so that they travel more cohesively with the customer/patients, then we will have this seamless system that allows retail to disrupt the traditional delivery methods.

3. The proximity of the physical store in your neighborhood for retail for simple health care needs, coupled with pharmacy and OTC products, in one place.

Location pervasiveness, alone is a great driver for retailers to dive into these services. This is also another way for retailers to be thought of more by consumers as services providers, rather than simply “product sellers.” Another great way to differentiate.