LITTLE ROCK — The growth in retail store based health clinics stalled in the first half of the year but is expected to resume in the second half, according to research and consulting firm Merchant Medicine LLC of Shoreview, Minn.
Tom Charland, the researcher who runs the firm, said in his July report that 1,351 retail clinics were open July 1, down from 1,355 on Jan.1. He forecasts 176 additional clinics will open by the end of the year.
Pharmacy chains CVS Caremark of Woonsocket, R.I., which operates its clinics under the MinuteClinic banner, and Walgreens of Deerfield, Ill., whose clinics are called Take Care Health, accounted for more than half of the clinics: CVS has 562 and Walgreens has 360.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville, which partners with various hospital systems and health-care firms to run its in-store clinics, had 148 as of July 1, down from 154 at the start of the year.
In Northwest Arkansas, Wal-Mart partners with Northwest Health System for clinics in stores in Fayetteville, Rogers and Siloam Springs. In central Arkansas, it partners with St. Vincent Health System in Little Rock, Sherwood, Maumelle and Bryant.
Elsewhere in Arkansas, it partners with Sisters of Mercy Health System in Berryville and Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home.
Danit Marquardt, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said the company is seeking to connect patients to community health-care providers as it looks for ways to deliver affordable health care to its customers.
“At this point, our clinic program is a pilot program,” she said.
So far, Marquardt said, the company is pleased with the results.
Jim Cohn, a Walgreen Co. spokesman, said the company currently has no plans for clinics in Arkansas. He said the company frequently evaluates several factors such as the number of health-care professionals per 1,000 residents, the number of available nurse practitioners, regulatory issues and the managed care environment.
Typically, retail clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners who have a video link with a physician. They generally deal with common ailments such as sore throats or earaches, or serve people who want flu shots or to get their blood pressure checked.
A study released last year by the Rand Corp. found that retail clinics were equipped to manage care for 11 acute conditions that included upper respiratory infections, bronchitis and conjunctivitis. The study also noted that higher-income patients were frequent visitors for simple health issues such as sore throats.
Tine Hansen-Turton, executive director of the Convenient Care Association, a trade group based in Philadelphia, said that nearly 40 percent of those who seek services from retail clinics have no “medical home,” such as an established relationship with a primary-care physician.
Members of the organization, she said, help patients establish such relationships.
“We’ve sort of become the gatekeepers,” she said. “We think people should have a medical home.”
Following the top three retail clinic operators, the numbers fall off sharply. The Kroger Co., the nation’s largest traditional grocer, includes 78 The Little Clinic locations, through a Brentwood, Tenn., firm the grocer bought in 2010.
Target Corp. has 44 clinics, most in its home state of Minnesota, and others in Florida, Illinois and Maryland.
Charland, who was in Israel this week, said in his most recent report that “retail clinics will continue to gain acceptance and see increasing volumes so long as they are in convenient places and provide good service.”
Business, Pages 25 on 07/14/2012