Clinical innovaations, retail clinics, -Consumer Health Care Innovation: A List of In-Store Clinics

This is my third blog on retail clinics – those small in-store clinics located inside stores staffed by nurse practitioners.

• In my first, December 22, 2006, I described how Prohealth Physicians, a 200 provider primary care group in Connecticut, was setting up its own in-store clinics.
• In my second, February 15, 2007, I told why these clinics would not take the primary care world by storm because many consumers would still prefer going to a more professional setting to a doctor they knew and who knew them.
• In this, my third, I shall simply list existing retail clinics – their operators, headquarters, locations, retailers, and slogans – for the listless among you.1,2

Here’s the list.

• Aurora Quick Care, Milwaukee, 17 locations in Wisconsin, Aurora Pharmacy, Piggly Wiggly, Wal-Mart, “No appointment. No Waiting. No Hassle.”
• Curaquick, Sioux City, Iowa, 11 locations in Iowa, Nebraska, and Ohio, Hy-Vee, Pharm Discount Drug, “The nurse is in.”
• HealthRite, Atlantic City, 1 location in New Jersey, ShopRite grocery stores, “Health care right when you need it!”
• Medpoint Express, South Bend, Indiana, 3 locations in Indiana, Wal-Mart, “Get well sooner.”
• MinuteClinic, Minneapolis, 156 locations in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, CVS, Target, Supervalu’s Cub Stores, Bartell Drugs, QTC, “You're sick. We’re quick!”
• QuickClinic, Akron , Ohio, 3 locations in Ohio. ACME Fresh Market, Ritzman’s Pharmacy, “On the spot relief.”
• QuickHealth, San Francisco, 7 locations in California and Iowa, Farmacia Remedios, Longs Drugs, Wal-Mart, “We make quality medical care affordable and convenient.”
• RediClinic, Houston, 29 locations in Arizona, Georgia, New York, Oklahoma, and Texas, HEB, Wal-Mart, Duane Reade, “Get well. Stay well. Fast!”
• SmartCare, Greenwich Village, Colorado, 12 locations in Colorado, North Carolina, and South Carolina, Kerry Drug, Wal-Mart, “Convenient healthcare for everyday needs.”
• Take Care Health Systems, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, 36 locations in Kansas, Missouri, and Oregon, Brooks-Eckerd Pharmacy, Rite Aid, Osco, Sav-On Drugs, and Walgreen’s, “Professional Care, Always There.”
• The Little Clinic, 14 locations in Florida, Indiana, and Kentucky, Kroger, Publix, “Convenient neighborhood care.”

Comment

In-store clinics’ rise signals arrival of consumer-driven health care. Modern consumer now yearn for quick, low-cost, convenient clinical service with no waiting during off-hours. Clinics are an example of four types of innovations,

• changes in industry or market structure (shift to decentralized settings),
• demographic or population changes (search of demanding, time-bankrupt babyboomers for convenience),
• changes in perception , mood, and meaning (approval of retail outlets as appropriate sites for care),
• disruptive innovation (substitution of nurse practitioners for physicians.)

References

1. Bohmer, Richard, “The Rise of In-Store Clinics – Threat or Opportunity? New England Journal of Medicine, volume 356, pages 765-768, February 22, 2006.
2. Scott, M.K, Health Care in the Express Lane, The Emergence of Retail Clinics, prepared for California Healthcare Foundation, January 30, 2007.