Coming soon to your local grocery store or pharmacy: health clinics. - The Food Institute Report

More supermarkets, chain drug stores and mass market retailers are featuring health clinics, so much so that supermarkets are taking on an 'emerging role as a health care destination,' according to Supermarket News (Winter 2007). There are about 700 retail health clinics currently in operation, and as many as 1,500 may open by the end of 2008, according to Philadelphia-based industry trade group CONVENIENT CARE ASSOCIATION (CCA). Retailers are attracted to the relatively low start-up cost (around $75,000, according to the CCA) because many are built into existing stores, and high potential earnings, as many are located near the pharmacy and health and beauty care sections. 'Our patients do purchase something in the store,' stated CEO of REDICLINIC Web Golinkin. WAL-MART CEO Lee Scott agrees that the clinics provide sales opportunities, 'but most importantly, they are going to provide ... affordable access at the local level to quality healthcare.'

CVS'S MinuteClinic is the largest retail health clinic thus far, with 400 MinuteClinics in 26 states. WALGREENS' Take Care has 100 Health Corner clinics; the company anticipates operating more than 400 by the end of 2008. Wal-Mart, which partnered with RediClinic and others, plans to have 400 clinics in its stores within two to three years, totaling 2,000 within five to seven years 'if current market forces continue,' according to a company statement. MINYARD FOOD STORES, Coppell, TX, is expanding its retail clinic offerings. Currently, the company, along with healthcare provider MED BASICS, has clinics in three stores, and has plans to open another 25 in its CARNIVAL, Minyard and SACK 'N SAVE outlets. The Little Clinic can be found at 40 KROGER and PUBLIX stores due to the 'distinct nature and reliable traffic' in supermarkets, according to Lisa Loscalzo, executive vice president of THE LITTLE CLINIC. Though clinics may be all the rage, fundamentally, healthcare offerings are nothing new for these stores, stated Catherine Polley, vice president of pharmacy at the FOOD MARKETING INSTITUTE, Arlington, VA. The executive pointed out that in-store or community seminars, health-focused recipes and disease management have been provided at these stores for some time. 'A large portion of companies are integrating in-store clinics to broaden the one-stop-shopping function of the supermarket,' states FMI's 'Supermarket Pharmacy Trends 2007 Report.'

The addition of a clinic provides a valuable marketing opportunity. To attract customers, SPARTAN STORES, Grand Rapids, MI, plans on providing flu shots and screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol and bone density. The store anticipates reaping the benefits. 'Logic tells you that if I get a prescription and there is a pharmacy a few feet away, there is a good chance I will fill my prescription there,' stated Spartan director of pharmacy Eddie Garcia. These health clinics will soon be targeted to professional drivers, as PILOT TRAVEL CENTERS and ROADSIDE MEDICAL LABS AND CLINICS partnered to provide clinics at rest stops nationwide, reported Convenience Store News (Dec. 25, 2007). Citing research that claims 62% of drivers did not seek out necessary medical attention while on the job, one executive spoke of a logistical issue: 'Have you ever tried to park your rig at a doctor's office?' asked Roadside CEO Joe Neely. The first clinics will open in Cartersville, GA and Knoxville, TN in January 2008. An additional 16 clinics are scheduled to open over the course of this year and 20 will open in 2009.

Overall, 3% of the U.S. population report frequenting a retail health clinic, and half claim they will return, according to FORRESTER RESEARCH, Cambridge, MA. Patients, who tend to be younger, affluent, educated and have children, report visiting due to shorter wait times, extended hours, walk-in availability and location. 'The desire to return is driven by convenience, not superior care,' cited Forrester, reported Supermarket News. The NATIONAL BUSINESS GROUP ON HEALTH endorsed these clinics as they 'meet an important, unfilled need for services that are easily accessible, open to everyone, lower in cost than emergency rooms, and available during hours that many physicians' offices are closed,' stated group president Helen Darling. Meanwhile, the AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (AMA) passed a resolution seeking an investigation by federal and state agencies to determine 'whether walk-in health clinics at retail stores are operating with a conflict of interest that may put patients at risk,' according to NewsTarget.com (Jan. 8). 'The nation's physicians want the AMA to ensure [that] [financial] incentives do not compromise the basic obligation of store-based health clinics to provide patients with quality care,' stated AMA board member Peter Carmel.