Chain clinics such as CVS’s MinuteClinic and CentraCare are popping up more and more throughout the country. These clinics offer simple, routine medical assistance and accept 10.8 million visitors a year. It is also predicted by Accenture that they can save almost $800 million in annual healthcare spending by 2015.
These chain clinics are cheap to build because they are add-ons to existing drug stores or old doctor’s offices. The Convenient Care Association believes about 40 percent of patient that receive care from these clinics do not have a primary care physician. Health systems can add more accessible points when partnered with retailers like Walgreens, CVS, and Kroger.
Recently, doctors have become too expensive or don’t take as much time as necessary to diagnose the patient. This leads to medical errors and costly doctor visits. Finding some relief from rising healthcare spending has helped many people and it is believed to be helping the nation over all.
Retails teaming up with large medical facilities allows for a better integrated electronic medical recording system. Having access to files on both sides could lead to better system organization and efficiency. However, these retail clinics shouldn’t cross over medical boundaries by assisting in procedures beyond their capabilities.
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