Report: Retail clinics are proving to be solid options for convenient, affordable health care

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Getting a doctor’s appointment isn’t what it used to be. As the nation faces an ongoing shortage of primary care physicians and an influx of patients gaining health insurance due to health reform, many physicians are battling an overload. And, in some cases, they are referring their patients elsewhere for medical care, like retail-based health clinics, according to a WTSP news report.



In speaking with WTSP, Patrick Carroll, chief medical officer, Walgreens Healthcare Clinics, was quoted as saying, “Health care is in the new age of consumerism and they're looking at things like cost, quality and convenience.”



Carroll also noted that 80% of Walgreens patients have insurance and those without insurance pay far less than they would pay for a visit to the emergency room.