As CVS and Walgreens continue to add to their hospital rosters, supermarket chains are beginning to test the retail clinic waters, offering healthcare organizations the opportunity to reach potential patients in a different setting.
As healthcare reform continues to roll out, healthcare is as hot a topic as it ever has been. This weekend, even the keynote speaker at my brother's business school graduation touched on innovations happening in hospitals and health systems, from remote patient monitoring to electronic medical records to care coordination with retail clinics.
The speaker was the CEO of a large financial institution.
As his speech meandered back to the financial topic at hand, I couldn't help but think about how the primary audience—the graduating class in front of him—may not remember a time before retail clinics' existed.
My brother, for example, is lucky enough to have found himself a full-time job with health insurance prior to receiving his diploma, and yet he says his first stop for any minor ailment will not be his primary care physician, but the CVS Minute Clinic down the street from his apartment.
Retail Medicine Syncs with High-Deductible Health Plans
A growing number of hospitals and health systems are realizing that reaching patients at this burgeoning care access point is critical to their continued success, and collaborations with retail chains are on the rise. Walgreens and CVS are the retail clinic frontrunners, with 20 and 36 hospital affiliations, respectively.
"We look forward to working with these health systems to develop collaborative programs that improve patient outcomes, lower costs and help people on their path to better health," CVS/Caremark chief medical officer Troyen Brennan, MD, said in a statement last week when it announced new partnerships with Memorial Health in Georgia and Lahey Health in Massachusetts.
"Through these clinical affiliations, we will also be integrating our electronic medical records and information systems to enable us to support patients with medication counseling and chronic disease monitoring," Brennan said.
As CVS and Walgreens continue to add to their hospital rosters, supermarket chains are beginning to test the retail clinic waters, offering healthcare organizations the opportunity to reach potential patients in a different setting.
In Retail Medicine, Opportunity for Market Share Growth
A driving force behind the shift to supermarket retail clinics is FastCare, a branch of non-profit Bellin Health System, which has been connecting hospitals and retailers interested in opening a clinic since its inception in 2006. The organization has opened two hospital-staffed retail clinics at grocers this spring.
Norwalk Hospital Partners with Stop & Shop
Norwalk (CT) Hospital opened a retail clinic earlier this month in a nearby Stop & Shop supermarket, a pilot project for the grocery chain. Norwalk physician assistants and nurse practitioners will staff the clinic and a post-visit report will be sent to the patient's PCP, if they have one. The clinic offers a flat-rate $82 visit for those without insurance.
"Cost, quality, and accessibility are extremely important to us at Norwalk Hospital," Michael Marks, MD, vice president of business development, said in a media statement.
Much like its drugstore counterparts, the Norwalk FastCare clinic at Stop & Shop takes walk-in patients only and, when needed, will send prescriptions directly to the store pharmacy, unless the patient asks them to send the script to another location.
Norwalk promotes the clinic on its website and Facebook page, highlighting the flat-rate option and calling attention to the types of services they offer, such as sore throats, immunizations, and school physicians. It's clear that Norwalk is trying to convince patients with minor ailments to choose its clinic over the emergency department by comparing the costs of an ER visit versus the flat fee at the clinic.
"The average price to treat a sinus infection or sore throat at an ER is around $617," the website states. "FastCare offers an alternative. Most insurances are accepted, and your office visit co-pay applies. If you don't have insurance, FastCare is just $82, including basic labs."
Bronson Health Joins with Meijer
Bronson Health, a three-hospital system in Michigan, began partnering with a local Meijer supermarket in April. The clinic, also under the FastCare umbrella, will be staffed with health system physician assistants and nurse practitioners that work under the guidance of the physician group that staffs the health system's ERs.
The Bronson FastCare clinic treats the same ailments as the Norwalk clinic, but it offers a $69 flat rate for those without insurance. In addition to highlighting the low cost, Bronson is promoting its clinical expertise and electronic health record.
"The primary difference between Bronson FastCare and other immediate care and urgent care centers in the area is a direct link to the comprehensive Bronson system of care," John Jones, Jr., senior vice president and COO for Bronson Medical Practices, said in a statement.
"That includes medical specialists, services in the hospital, and outpatient services. In addition, FastCare will meet the same Bronson quality standards as the other Bronson services. And it has the same electronic medical record system used at all Bronson locations in the Kalamazoo area. This helps patients track all of their visits and enables providers to coordinate a patient's care from one service location to the next."
I'd imagine that supermarket-housed retail clinic will be as successful as its drugstore counterparts, since both are shopping destinations most people visit at least weekly. It will be interesting to see where retail clinics continue to expand, especially as the generation most familiar with clinics and their services comes of age.
Marianne Aiello is a contributing writer at HealthLeaders Media.