According to an article in the September-October issue of Health Affairs, some experts are betting on retail clinics to solve some of the cost problems in our health system. These clinics are typically in a drug store or other retail outlet and staffed by nurse practitioners.

The findings in show that retail clinics may take patients out of the emergency departments for routine care. Most visits to the clinics are for preventive care or acute problems that don’t require emergency room attention. The authors of the study estimate that the clinics could become a viable substitute for up to 18 percent of primary care visits and 12 percent of emergency room visits. The problem will be if more serious conditions are increasingly not recognized in such clinics and go undiagnosed, we won’t be saving much money … . Health Affairs this month features several other articles on retail clinics.

< Back to Listings