Some Medical Centers Open Facilities To Compete With Retail Medical Clinics

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 15 Nov 2007 - 9:00 PDT

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Some medical centers have begun to open retail clinics, which physicians previously "derided ... as providing disjointed and possibly unsafe care," to "keep existing patients and reach new ones," the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. According to the Star Tribune, the recent "explosion" in the number of retail clinics -- low-cost, walk-in facilities often located in supermarkets, pharmacies and large retail stores that in large part are staffed by nurse practitioners -- has "shocked traditional providers out of complacency, forcing many hospitals, clinics and pediatric practices to start offering same-day appointments, extended urgent care hours and even patient care on weekends."

For example, the Mayo Clinic on Friday announced plans early next year to open a Mayo Express Care clinic in a shopping center in Rochester, Minn., based on ALMC Express Care, a clinic in a mall in Albert Lea, Minn., operated by affiliate Albert Lea Medical Center. In the future, Mayo might open additional retail clinics across southern Minnesota, western Wisconsin and northern Iowa.

David Herman, director of employee and community health for Mayo, said, "We're looking at this as part of a system of care." Tricia Dahl, associate clinic administrator for Albert Lea, said, "A couple of years ago, medical centers thought if they ignored (the trend)" toward retail clinics "it would go away," adding, "But patients tell us this is what they want" (Yee, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 11/12).

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