Retail Health Care Clinics

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Retail Clinics Play Growing Role in Health Care Marketplace

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Retail health care clinics provide treatment for acute conditions like bronchitis as well as vaccinations and other preventive care. With the role of retail clinics expanding and U.S. health care entering a dynamic period of change, it is important to consider what we know about this emerging health care setting.

All Items (28)

News Release

Evidence About Whether Retail Medical Clinics Disrupt Doctor-Patient Relationships Is Mixed — Oct 31, 2012

People who visit retail medical clinics are less likely to return to a primary care physician for future illnesses and have less continuity of care. However, no evidence suggests that retail medical clinics disrupt preventive care or management of diabetes, two important measures of quality of primary care.

Journal Article

Evidence About Whether Retail Medical Clinics Disrupt Doctor-Patient Relationships Is Mixed — Oct 31, 2012

People who visit retail medical clinics are less likely to return to a primary care physician for future illnesses and have less continuity of care. However, no evidence suggests that retail medical clinics disrupt preventive care or management of diabetes, two important measures of quality of primary care.

News Release

Use of Retail Medical Clinics Continues to Grow; Older Patients and Preventive Services on Rise — Aug 15, 2012

Visits to retail medical clinics increased four-fold from 2007 to 2009, with the proportion of patients over age 65 growing from 8 to 19 percent of all visits during this period. More than 44 percent of visits occurred on the weekend or other hours when physician offices typically are closed.

Journal Article

Use of Retail Medical Clinics Continues to Grow; Older Patients and Preventive Services on Rise — Aug 15, 2012

Visits to retail medical clinics increased four-fold from 2007 to 2009, with the proportion of patients over age 65 growing from 8 to 19 percent of all visits during this period. More than 44 percent of visits occurred on the weekend or other hours when physician offices typically are closed.

Journal Article

Growth of Retail Clinics in Vaccination Delivery in the U.S. — Jul 1, 2012

Retail clinics play a growing role in delivering vaccinations to Americans, and vaccinations constitute a substantial share of retail clinic business.

Blog

Attempts by States to Save Money by Locking Medicaid Enrollees out of the ED Are Likely to Backfire — May 21, 2012

A better solution than restricting emergency department use by Medicaid enrollees is to reverse what for many years has been a trend of shrinking access to primary care for Medicaid beneficiaries.

News Release

Use of Retail Medical Clinics Rises 10-Fold Over Two-Year Period — Nov 22, 2011

Use of retail medical clinics located in pharmacies and other retail settings increased tenfold between 2007 and 2009. The determining factors in choosing one over a physician's office were found to be age, health status, income, and proximity to the clinic.

Journal Article

Use of Retail Medical Clinics Rises Tenfold Over Two-Year Period — Nov 22, 2011

Use of retail medical clinics located in pharmacies and other retail settings increased tenfold between 2007 and 2009. The determining factors in choosing one over a physician's office were found to be age, health status, income, and proximity to the clinic.

Journal Article

Reengineering the Clinical Research Enterprise to Involve More Community Clinicians — Apr 4, 2011

This paper presents a model for the reorganization of clinical research to foster long-term participation by community clinicians.

News Release

Some Hospital Emergency Department Visits Could Be Handled by Alternative Care Settings — Sep 7, 2010

About 17 percent of all visits to hospital emergency departments across the United States could be treated at retail medical clinics or urgent care centers, potentially saving $4.4 billion annually in health care costs.

Report

Policy Implications of the Use of Retail Clinics — Aug 10, 2010

Retail clinics' quality of care appears comparable to that of other provider types, but we know little about the effects of clinic use on preventive services, care coordination, and care continuity.

Research Brief

Health Care on Aisle 7: The Growing Phenomenon of Retail Clinics — Jun 8, 2010

Presents information on the growing phenomenon of retail medical clinics, the types of patients they serve and the types of care they provide, and whether some common claims about retail clinics are supported by evidence.

Past Event

The Growth of Retail Health Care Clinics — Mar 19, 2010

Policy analyst Ateev Mehrotra discusses the cost, quality, and potential capacity of medical clinics in commercial settings at Health Care on Aisle 7: The Growing Phenomenon of Retail Clinics on March 19, 2010.

Journal Article

Sociodemographic Characteristics of Communities Served By Retail Clinics — Jan 1, 2010

To better understand the potential for retail clinics, the authors describe the sociodemographic characteristics of the communities in which they operate.

Journal Article

The Growth of Retail Clinics and the Medical Home: Two Trends in Concert or in Conflict? — Jan 1, 2010

There has been growing interest in the patient-centered medical home as a way to provide coordinated, high-quality primary care.

Journal Article

Many Emergency Department Visits Could Be Managed at Urgent Care Centers and Retail Clinics — Jan 1, 2010

About 14-27 percent of all emergency department visits could take place at retail clinics and urgent care centers, with a potential cost savings of approximately $4.4 billion annually.

Research Brief

A Policy-Relevant Picture of California's Ambulatory Surgery Centers — Oct 1, 2009

Examines how California's ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) compare with hospital outpatient surgery departments and how the state compares with other states in regulating ASCs.

Report

California Ambulatory Surgery Centers: A Comparative Statistical and Regulatory Description — Sep 28, 2009

Examines ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in California and compares California's regulation of ASCs with that in other states.

Journal Article

Comparing Costs and Quality of Care at Retail Clinics with That of Other Medical Settings for 3 Common Illnesses — Sep 1, 2009

Retail clinics are an increasingly popular source for medical care. Concerns have been raised about the effect of these clinics on the cost, quality, and delivery of preventive care. The authors compare the care received at retail clinics for 3 acute conditions with that received at other care settings. Retail clinics provide less costly treatment than physician offices or urgent care centers for 3 common illnesses, with no apparent adverse effect on quality of care or delivery of preventive care.

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