Retail Clinics

While much has been made about retail clinics’ ability to trim healthcare costs, a study published in the journal Health Affairs this spring suggested that these walk-in health centers may actually boost overall spending by encouraging people to get care for minor problems that mostly would have cleared up on their own.

With nearly 200 clinics in stores operated by Kroger across 10 states, The Little Clinic has become a vital healthcare source for millions of patients across the United States. To ensure that it stays that way, the company has expanded the breadth of the services it offers in some clinics and added new executives to its management team.

There is no clearer evidence that retail clinics have become a vital component of community pharmacies than the recent proliferation in smaller, regional chains.

More than a decade after they began to appear in community pharmacies across the country, retail clinics have become a key provider of health care to millions of Americans. Both the number of clinics and the types of services provided are expanding, and even regional and supermarket chains are joining the trend of becoming a one-stop healthcare destination.

Walgreens has been at the forefront of the movement to make retail clinics a cornerstone of the American healthcare system.

In recent months, RediClinic — which operates 43 clinics in Rite Aid stores in the Philadelphia, Baltimore/Washington, D.C., and Seattle markets, as well as 35 clinics in H-E-B grocery stores in Houston, Austin and San Antonio — has continued to form alliances with local healthcare providers. The company continues to strengthen its ability to offer convenient health care to more patients through its partnerships with local healthcare providers.

SEATTLE -- Although summer just started, Bartell Drugs is already thinking about flu season with a push for workplace flu clinic programs.

The retailer announced it is already accepting reservations for on-site flu clinics for workplaces. These clinics send qualified health care providers directly to a workplace to provide flu vaccinations for employee pools of 25 or more. The first clinic begins on Sept. 1.

VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Pharmasave announced that its pharmacists have been trained to be leaders in providing medication therapy management programs.

This includes reviewing medications for appropriateness, identifying potential problems such as drug interactions, alternative therapies and contraindications and patient counselling on appropriate use.