Retail Health Clinics Expand Across Southern California

[CAL/AAEM News Service]

Retail Health Clinics Expand Across Southern California
 
Source: The California Healthline ( http://www.californiahealthline.org )
Date: January 24, 2008


CVS subsidiary MinuteClinic opened 25 offices in Southern California in 77 days during
the last quarter of 2007 after making operational changes to comply with state licensing
regulations, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports. 

California law requires medical clinics to be owned and operated by physicians, which
forced MinuteClinic to hire doctors to oversee its operations. In California,
MinuteClinic offices are staffed by nurse practitioners, with doctors periodically
reviewing patient charts and passing along recommendations to a district manager, who
provides feedback to the nurses. 

The walk-in clinics, which operate in CVS stores, offer patients a diagnosis and, if
necessary, a prescription in about 15 minutes. Services at the clinics include flu shots,
immunizations and treatment for minor ailments, such as strep throat or ear infections.
The clinics charge $59, with some services covered by insurers. 

Experts expect the number of retail clinics to continue to grow as patients seek out
faster and more convenient health care options. Some providers also are following the
trend, including Northern California's Sutter Health System, which opened clinics in Rite
Aid pharmacy stores in the Sacramento area.

Medical Associations' Stance

The California Medical Association has not taken a position on retail clinics. Dev
Gnanadev, president-elect of CMA, said retail clinics will not alleviate the crowding of
emergency departments because they target insured patients and those willing to pay full
price in order to save time.

Meanwhile, the American Medical Association has called for investigations into whether
health care at the clinics is compromised by a drive to boost sales of prescriptions and
other products (Hines, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 1/23).

For more information, please visit:
http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2008/1/24/Retail-Health-Clinics-Expand-Across-Southern-California.aspx?topicID=44

Abid Mogannam &
Brian Potts MD, MBA
Managing Editors, CAL/AAEM News Service
University of California, Irvine

The CAL/AAEM Archives are available at: http://maillists.uci.edu/mailman/public/calaaem/



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