Practice Management
Have some retailers waded so far into the healthcare waters that they may be over their heads? A new poll by Deloitte & Touche shows that the challenge of coordinating care among various providers and retail companies’ relative inexperience in the field of healthcare are leaving many companies at risk. Offerings are so diverse, from wellness screenings to treatment for acute low-acuity conditions by physician assistants and nurse practitioners, that some organizations may not be …
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One of the retail health sector’s key selling points—convenience—may partially negate its perceived cost benefit vs urgent care or the emergency room. A new study published in Health Affairs reveals that use of retail clinics actually led to higher overall spending because patients were more inclined to seek professional care for complaints so minor that they could have been treated at home. The data, which reflect claims data from Aetna, indicate that 58% of retail …
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Investing in the growth of the retail health segment continues to be a hit-or-miss proposition for major chains around the country. While Walmart is hoping it won’t strike out with its third iteration of a clinic offering, Safeway is pulling the plug on plans to offer “upscale” clinical services—the keystone of which would have been a vendor’s blood analyzer—in 800 stores. Safeway spent around $350 million to build the clinics, hoping the blood tests produced …
Read MoreThere is plenty of posturing going on within organized medicine with regard to the “retail health” revolution. Concerns have been raised regarding continuity of care, the “corporatization” of medicine, kickbacks to pharmacies, and the quality of care provided by nurse practitioners and physician assistants. American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics have all chimed in. Only the AAP has come out consistently opposed to the idea on …
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