New study demonstrates retail clinic model growth

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — The new data by Marketdata Enterprises is significant as it puts a number against a very valuable and fast-growing segment of health care that will continue to grow regardless of who is elected president and what happens to healthcare reform.



(THE NEWS: The retail health clinic and urgent care center market currently is poised for strong growth in the coming years. Click here to read the story.)

Right now, the urgent care centers are the big piece of the pie with 9,000 urgent care centers generating revenues of $9.23 billion this year, according to Marketdata.



However, DSN believes that will change. Why? Retailers like Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Target and Walmart and others can deliver a scalability that regional urgent care operators simply cannot. For one thing, such retailers already have the stores and the best real estate.



Echoing the sentiment, Marketdata researchers believe that “there will be a net addition of about 340 clinics per year in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Obviously, Walmart and Safeway right now are the two wildcards in the equation. CVS already has stated it is committed to open 100 new clinics a year and the No. 2 competitor, Walgreens, will not want to get left further behind. Target stores could also ramp up their expansion plans. Added to these companies, we have lots of grocery store and supermarket chains that will probably enter the market.”



Marketdata researchers forecast that there will be roughly 2,700 retail mini-clinics operating by 2016 that will generate revenues of $1.38 billion. This implies an 18.5% average annual growth rate in revenues from 2013 to 2016.



In any event, the numbers look good and continue to show how quickly this model is ramping up.



The key question, is where is your company in terms of its level of engagement with the clinics?