Competition Gets Heated In The Retail Clinic Market
Written on September 4, 2007
Turf Wars…
An article attributed to The Associated Press made the rounds last month, via various news outlets. As the public embraces retail clinics for quick convenient health care services, physicians and their associations continue to try to stem the tide. There’s been some give-and-take over the years. For example, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians have offered policy guidelines that set quality of care goals for retail clinics. In reality, the underlying issue may be competition. AMA officials indicate that an increasing number of practices are extending hours of operation in response to the rise in retail clinics.
Right now, it may seem like a tempest in a teapot. There is increasing competition, but companies clearly state the types of testing and treatment that are provided at retail clinics — most of which are quite limited and very similar among the various outlets currently in operation.
The business model is expanding, however, which may explain recent concerns about both continuity of care for patients on a long-term basis and the potential for retail clinic providers to miss underlying medical problems. Initial success often leads to further innovation. With the right mix of access and professionalism, availability of a wider range of health and medical services in the retail space could have a favorable impact on the U.S. health care system.
Filed in: Retail Clinic Market.