July 31, 2012
Affordable Care Act to Boost Retail Clinic Business
For all the complaints concerning the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamney Care), it is clear that the addition of up to 30 million new people to the rolls of the health insured is going to be big for in-store clinics. The opportunity is pretty clear: many pockets of the country have high concentrations of doctors while others find MDs few and far between.
Ultimately, there are too few doctors, even before the act’s full implementation, to handle many of the common wellness and minor medical issues of Americans on a timely basis. That’s where in-store clinics come in.
Today, most clinics offer a cheap and convenient means to deal with run-of-the-mill complaints and handle tasks such as blood pressure checks, inoculations and physicals. Retailers and clinic operators are picking up the pace of openings, with estimates putting the number of clinics in operation at 3,000 in 2016, rising from roughly 1,350 at the present time, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.
Today, CVS Caremark has the greatest number of clinics with around 650 MinuteClinics followed by Walgreens with 350 TakeCare Clinics. Walmart currently has 150 and Kroger has 87 Little Clinics. While late to the game, Target is also opening clinics in some of its stores.
Although retailers are not looking to replace family care physicians, some clinics have indicated that they may pursue treatment of some chronic diseases such as adult onset diabetes. This, as might be expected, has raised the ire of some physicians already wary of the competition.
"Nurse practitioners can do a fine job managing many chronic conditions, but if someone has a more complex problem, they might need to refer to a doctor," Catherine Dower, a healthcare researcher at UC San Francisco, told the Times.
"Clinics are not isolated add-ons to the drug store format; they are an integral part of the corporate purpose of the two major drug chains, Walgreens and CVS," said Roy White, RetailWire editor-at-large in a discussion on the site back in May of this year. "Both these chains have oriented themselves very publicly and very forcefully into companies that are the go-to resource for pharmacy, remedial health and health maintenance. … The in-store clinics are an important part of this vision, and, as such, will receive the resources and support to grow."
BrainTrust
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Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions: How big a business opportunity does the Affordable Care Act provide for retailers operating or leasing space to in-store clinics? Do you see these businesses branching out to offer more services typically handled by physicians today?
Poll
With or without the ACA, in-store clinics are a booming opportunity. Despite all the rhetoric about cutting healthcare costs, in-store clinics may provide the largest opportunity to take costs out of the system.
The opportunity is two-fold. First, for minor services, there is no need for an office visit. Second, because of the cost, patients are more likely to seek treatment sooner, perhaps preventing something more serious and costly.
States are licensing physician’s assistants and nurse practitioners to provide routine services that don’t require a physician. There is no reason to believe that healthcare can not be provided by a trained individual who is not a physician. In fact, in some cases, the net result is likely to be better healthcare.
There is great opportunity for retailers operating in-store clinics. Due to the lack of number of doctors available to handle the additionally insured that will be eligible for treatment once the Affordable Care Act begins, in-store clinics will certainly take the pressure off the long queues at doctors’ offices for routine physicals and other such procedures, which will be a benefit to consumers. The additional consumer visits to the in-store clinics at retailers such as CVS, Walgreens, Target and Walmart should certainly create added revenue via the clinic visits as well as increased in-store traffic.
In-store clinics providing first tier health care and maintenance is not only a tremendous opportunity for retailers to enhance their position as a destination, but also for our healthcare system overall. Many healthcare concerns and issues can be addressed by nurse practitioners. Additionally, as medical records along symptom and diagnosis libraries become cataloged digitally the nurse practitioner will become more empowered allowing doctors and hospitals to concentrate on more acute cases. Retailers should be designing these clinics into their planograms and overall environments rather than making them look and feel like tarot card reading booths. These clinics could be another key addition to bringing relevancy to the ‘brick & mortar’ retail environment for their shoppers and customers.
On first blush, the ACA would appear to be a boon to in-store clinics for sure. But this may turn into a super-sized case of unintended (or at least unexpected) consequences.
Based on my brother-in-law research at a recent family reunion (I have multiple in medical practice, along with a gaggle of nurses and even one nurse practitioner), doctors are going to be increasingly turning over patient care to P.A.s in their own offices. The reasons are simple — demand for non-emergency health care will exceed supply — and economic — cost of physician care will exceed ACA reimbursement rates.
So, the clinics may find themselves competing much more directly with medical clinics and multiple doctor patient care centers. And this time the traditional providers won’t be at nearly the cost disadvantage that they are versus the in-store clinic today.
The strategic question may well come down to this. Will the location convenience of an in-store clinic trump the convenience and appeal of having multiple levels of care available immediately in one spot if you need them? This one will turn out to be much more complex than we anticipate.
While it is generally a good idea to be ahead of a trend and the competition, most of the regulatory experts that I’ve heard say several federal agencies still need to weigh in on how the ACA will be implemented. So, disregarding ACA for the time being, the idea of nurse practitioners providing appropriate services in retail locations makes a ton of sense for the pharmacy operators.
I’m not so sure about a grocer without a pharmacy. That would be a stretch for the consumer with an immediate healthcare issue on his/her mind.
The opportunity to grow business revenues does exist in this space, not because of the “Affordable Care Act,” but as a result of consumers seeking convenient, time-saving, and cost-saving practices.
Before expanding the number of clinics and services, however, retailers will do well to make certain that the licensees who typically operate within their stores are properly staffing their current clinics. This then positions the retailers to effectively promote the service to consumers.
Having a better educated populace aware of their and their family’s health issues, and a belief in the value and use of modern medicine will serve consumers, retailers, and clinics well. Let’s just hope that the government bureaucracy doesn’t come in to upend this promising health care avenue.
The opportunity for discussion within the framework of the economy and the future of health care would be more inviting if we look at the players themselves as a topic. For instance, can we successfully break down or divide up the responsibilities of a doctor, to be provided by 4 or 5 underpaid specialists doing the same thing for far less money? Kind of like what they are doing with eye doctors, dentists and pharmacists.
The problem here is all about price. It costs a lot of money to see a doctor today. Today’s economy is awful. It is beyond the ability for most insurance companies to pay these costs even if the unnecessary treatments were removed from the equation. The need for low cost care is overdue and the AMA will be compelled to accept these new clinics, staffed with technicians and aids. The choice is evolving to little or none, with the sick getting sicker. This opportunity is gigantic for the retail industry as well as the consumer.
With or without ACA, retail health clinics staffed by nurse practitioners have a legitimate role to play in the healthcare ecosystem. They can be a great, economical choice for routine services like vaccinations, screenings, preventive care and school checkups.
As a practical matter, they may not provide the continuity of care available from a committed GP or internist. But this figures to improve as patient medical records become more digitized and accessible securely in the cloud.
The large pharmacy chains naturally are leading the charge into this business. There are also increasing numbers of walk-in clinics cropping up in strip centers. I believe we may anticipate that the latter will be “rolled up” into large chains by investor groups.
I’ve also just recently seen walk-in labs start to appear in local strip centers, where patients can obtain routine blood-tests and other screenings. It will be interesting to see how well they prosper in an ACA world.
I would re-affirm my statements from May and add some forward looking views. In-store clinics take insurance. They are ideal for lesser medical issues, and, if something is wrong — rash, pain, etc. — it is far easier for a patient to go to an in-store clinic (at which the wait is counted in minutes not hours), compared to the uncertainty of going to the emergency room of most hospitals, which can feature long waits, inadequate care, overburdened staff, and several more issues besides.
In-store clinics, with the Affordable Care Act, can now perhaps assume a more formal and acceptable role within the healthcare system. They are not competing with doctors (although some in-store clinics do have doctors as opposed to nurse practitioners). In-store clinics fulfill a very useful and important role by assuming care for lesser medical issues, freeing physician and other healthcare professionals to deal with major issues. In-store clinic staff, if the patient’s malady is beyond their competence, are quick to direct such patients to a hospital emergency ward or physician. That said, they are not for every store, since a healthcare infrastructure and an understanding of how healthcare works have to be in place as it is in such massive pharmacy operations like Walgreens, CVS, Walmart and Target. Initially, such retailers will be the greatest beneficiaries of the growing importance of in-store clinics.
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With or without the ACA, in-store clinics are a booming opportunity. Despite all the rhetoric about cutting healthcare costs, in-store clinics may provide the largest opportunity to take costs out of the system.
The opportunity is two-fold. First, for minor services, there is no need for an office visit. Second, because of the cost, patients are more likely to seek treatment sooner, perhaps preventing something more serious and costly.
States are licensing physician’s assistants and nurse practitioners to provide routine services that don’t require a physician. There is no reason to believe that healthcare can not be provided by a trained individual who is not a physician. In fact, in some cases, the net result is likely to be better healthcare.
There is great opportunity for retailers operating in-store clinics. Due to the lack of number of doctors available to handle the additionally insured that will be eligible for treatment once the Affordable Care Act begins, in-store clinics will certainly take the pressure off the long queues at doctors’ offices for routine physicals and other such procedures, which will be a benefit to consumers. The additional consumer visits to the in-store clinics at retailers such as CVS, Walgreens, Target and Walmart should certainly create added revenue via the clinic visits as well as increased in-store traffic.
In-store clinics providing first tier health care and maintenance is not only a tremendous opportunity for retailers to enhance their position as a destination, but also for our healthcare system overall. Many healthcare concerns and issues can be addressed by nurse practitioners. Additionally, as medical records along symptom and diagnosis libraries become cataloged digitally the nurse practitioner will become more empowered allowing doctors and hospitals to concentrate on more acute cases. Retailers should be designing these clinics into their planograms and overall environments rather than making them look and feel like tarot card reading booths. These clinics could be another key addition to bringing relevancy to the ‘brick & mortar’ retail environment for their shoppers and customers.
On first blush, the ACA would appear to be a boon to in-store clinics for sure. But this may turn into a super-sized case of unintended (or at least unexpected) consequences.
Based on my brother-in-law research at a recent family reunion (I have multiple in medical practice, along with a gaggle of nurses and even one nurse practitioner), doctors are going to be increasingly turning over patient care to P.A.s in their own offices. The reasons are simple — demand for non-emergency health care will exceed supply — and economic — cost of physician care will exceed ACA reimbursement rates.
So, the clinics may find themselves competing much more directly with medical clinics and multiple doctor patient care centers. And this time the traditional providers won’t be at nearly the cost disadvantage that they are versus the in-store clinic today.
The strategic question may well come down to this. Will the location convenience of an in-store clinic trump the convenience and appeal of having multiple levels of care available immediately in one spot if you need them? This one will turn out to be much more complex than we anticipate.
While it is generally a good idea to be ahead of a trend and the competition, most of the regulatory experts that I’ve heard say several federal agencies still need to weigh in on how the ACA will be implemented. So, disregarding ACA for the time being, the idea of nurse practitioners providing appropriate services in retail locations makes a ton of sense for the pharmacy operators.
I’m not so sure about a grocer without a pharmacy. That would be a stretch for the consumer with an immediate healthcare issue on his/her mind.
The opportunity to grow business revenues does exist in this space, not because of the “Affordable Care Act,” but as a result of consumers seeking convenient, time-saving, and cost-saving practices.
Before expanding the number of clinics and services, however, retailers will do well to make certain that the licensees who typically operate within their stores are properly staffing their current clinics. This then positions the retailers to effectively promote the service to consumers.
Having a better educated populace aware of their and their family’s health issues, and a belief in the value and use of modern medicine will serve consumers, retailers, and clinics well. Let’s just hope that the government bureaucracy doesn’t come in to upend this promising health care avenue.
The opportunity for discussion within the framework of the economy and the future of health care would be more inviting if we look at the players themselves as a topic. For instance, can we successfully break down or divide up the responsibilities of a doctor, to be provided by 4 or 5 underpaid specialists doing the same thing for far less money? Kind of like what they are doing with eye doctors, dentists and pharmacists.
The problem here is all about price. It costs a lot of money to see a doctor today. Today’s economy is awful. It is beyond the ability for most insurance companies to pay these costs even if the unnecessary treatments were removed from the equation. The need for low cost care is overdue and the AMA will be compelled to accept these new clinics, staffed with technicians and aids. The choice is evolving to little or none, with the sick getting sicker. This opportunity is gigantic for the retail industry as well as the consumer.
With or without ACA, retail health clinics staffed by nurse practitioners have a legitimate role to play in the healthcare ecosystem. They can be a great, economical choice for routine services like vaccinations, screenings, preventive care and school checkups.
As a practical matter, they may not provide the continuity of care available from a committed GP or internist. But this figures to improve as patient medical records become more digitized and accessible securely in the cloud.
The large pharmacy chains naturally are leading the charge into this business. There are also increasing numbers of walk-in clinics cropping up in strip centers. I believe we may anticipate that the latter will be “rolled up” into large chains by investor groups.
I’ve also just recently seen walk-in labs start to appear in local strip centers, where patients can obtain routine blood-tests and other screenings. It will be interesting to see how well they prosper in an ACA world.
I would re-affirm my statements from May and add some forward looking views. In-store clinics take insurance. They are ideal for lesser medical issues, and, if something is wrong — rash, pain, etc. — it is far easier for a patient to go to an in-store clinic (at which the wait is counted in minutes not hours), compared to the uncertainty of going to the emergency room of most hospitals, which can feature long waits, inadequate care, overburdened staff, and several more issues besides.
In-store clinics, with the Affordable Care Act, can now perhaps assume a more formal and acceptable role within the healthcare system. They are not competing with doctors (although some in-store clinics do have doctors as opposed to nurse practitioners). In-store clinics fulfill a very useful and important role by assuming care for lesser medical issues, freeing physician and other healthcare professionals to deal with major issues. In-store clinic staff, if the patient’s malady is beyond their competence, are quick to direct such patients to a hospital emergency ward or physician. That said, they are not for every store, since a healthcare infrastructure and an understanding of how healthcare works have to be in place as it is in such massive pharmacy operations like Walgreens, CVS, Walmart and Target. Initially, such retailers will be the greatest beneficiaries of the growing importance of in-store clinics.