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