Retailers and the Partnership of Clinics maybe on the UpSwing!

    With an increase approximation of 200+ clinics opening at retails units (WalMart, Walgreen's, etc.), this means by the year 2015, there will be an estimated total of more than 3,300 units across the US.  The retailers are taking advantage of the ability to merge the care of the clinic, with the sale of the products referred or ordered by the clinician.  This is driving convienence for the patient. 
    MinuteClinic announced after the health system reform law was enacted in 2010 that it planned to double the number of clinics within five years in response. The company is the largest chain with 453 clinics, followed by Walgreens' Take Care, which operates 357 clinics. Take Care also announced expected growth after the enactment of health system reform last year. It netted only two new clinics since then and has made no predictions for 2011.
    The clinics are also exploiting the power of utilizing the Family Nurse Practitioner.  Having the clinic available to the public, for random walk-in traffic, the retailers are also seeing the need for many patients not having a PCP; the patients are seen for acute visits, usually clinic visits are less than 15 minutes, are ways to promote well being, and replenish well needed revenue.  The important venue of survival will be the retailers that bring quality care in a world reliant on HIT, the virtual practice, and not try to provide non-quality care at low prices.