Dec 07, 2018
Retail clinics are becoming an increasingly popular health care option. Recently, Kaiser Permanente® opened clinics in several Target stores in Southern California. Also, MinuteClinics are a prominent part of the integrated health strategy of the CVS and Aetna merger. A study by Civis Analytics looks at how consumers are using the clinics and how popular they are. Although retail clinic users say cost is a major factor in their decision, people with health insurance are equally likely to use them. Clinic users are overwhelmingly satisfied with their visits with 90% rating their experience as good, very good, or excellent, and 82% saying they would go back to a retail clinic. Clinic users, on average, tend to be male, younger, say they are in good health, and have higher incomes compared to non-users. Although retail clinics are popular, they are not yet replacing traditional primary care providers. Eighty-five percent of patients who visited a retail clinic say they also went to a primary care doctor in the last year. Services sought at the clinic are primarily one-and-done, including:
- 31% Vaccinations
- 40% Care for minor illnesses or injuries
- 6% Wellness visits or physical exams
- 4% Chronic condition care
Crystal Son, Healthcare Analytics Lead at Civis Analytics says, "Patients want good medical care, but they also value convenience and want healthcare to meet them where they are, rather than cause disruption to their daily lives. Retail clinics are in a good position to meet both of these desires.
For more information about which health plans offer coverage for retail clinics, contact your LISI Regional Sales Manager.
“Kaiser,” “Kaiser Permanente,” “Kaiser Foundation Health Plan” and the Kaiser Permanente Logo are registered trademarks or service marks of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., in the United States.
