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Low Cost, Convenience Drive in-Store Medical Clinic Trend

Posted on: Monday, 6 February 2006, 03:04 CST

By Emily Fredrix; Marcus Kabel< Associated Press

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Just feet from beeping cash registers, retailers as big as Wal-Mart and as small as a neighborhood pharmacy are experimenting with in-store medical clinics, hoping to generate more foot traffic along their drug and grocery aisles.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is testing clinics in eight stores in Arkansas and elsewhere and plans four more by mid-March. Target has contracted with a group that has 70 clinics in place nationwide.

The concept is so new that analysts weren't sure how many clinics exist.

They concurred, however, that retailers hope to increase foot traffic - boosting pharmacy and grocery sales - rather than rely on the clinics as an entirely new revenue stream.

"This cost and convenience trend is coming to a head, and that's what is driving this trend. My prediction is that it will move quite rapidly," said Matt Eyring, the managing director of Innosight, a Watertown, Mass., consulting firm.

At a Hy-Vee grocery store in Omaha, Neb., Donna Bultez stopped by the in-store medical clinic because her son Trevor Belmont suffered with a cough, aches and a sore throat. Ms. Bultez was relieved to find he wasn't suffering from strep throat. That she saved money by avoiding a trip to the emergency room was good news, too.

The business model is simple: A medical clinic operated by an outside company, and generally staffed by nurses or physician assistants, offers a limited range of tests and treatments at a lower cost than a doctor's office.

Patients never need an appointment and can drop by after regular business hours. Many times, a patient might be heading to the store anyway for groceries and find it convenient to ask about that nagging cough or persistent headache.

The clinics usually offer diagnoses and treatment for a pre- defined set of minor illnesses, from ear infections to strep throat to bladder infections. Most offer vaccinations.

Mr. Eyring said the clinics can operate at a lower cost to patients because there is less overhead for medical office equipment. Cotton swabs, tongue depressors and simple lab work are all that's needed to diagnose strep throat.

That low overhead, of course, means there are limits to what the clinics can do.

"The biggest hazard is that people could get the impression that these things could be a usual source of care, which they can't be," said Dr. Larry S. Fields, the president of the American Academy of Family Practitioners.

With the number of Americans without health insurance at 45.8 million in 2004, the clinics hope to reach consumers who have to pay out of pocket for doctor's visits - even for simple problems.

"Is this a trend that is here to stay? Yes," Mr. Eyring said.

Source: Augusta Chronicle, The

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