Perhaps it is because in-store health clinics are still largely a new phenomena, but few Americans are visiting the facilities to seek treatment for common ailments, according to the Health Tracking Household Survey conducted by the Center for Studying Health System Change for the Commonwealth Fund.
A total of 2.3 percent of American households report ever having visited an in-store clinic while only 1.2 percent had done so over the past year. While the pace of new clinics has slowed in recent months, there were 1,100 operating in the U.S. by midyear, up from 60 at the beginning of 2006.
It's been said that retail clinics would appeal to consumers based on convenience and price. The price aspect appears to be playing itself out, with 27 percent of clinic users not having insurance coverage. This percentage, the report points out, is much higher than the ratio of the uninsured in the general population. Those with insurance can, for the most part, visit a clinic knowing they accept major plans.
The research also found that Hispanics were more likely to visit a clinic than white consumers and families with kids were more likely to go an in-store location than those without children.
Discussion Questions: What do you see as the future for in-store health clinics? How high will clinics' household penetration go?