Here are eight ways retail clinics are shaping healthcare today, according to a Healthcare IT News report.
1. Retail clinics have been able to adopt information technology and data sharing efficiently to communicate with the healthcare provider’s electronic health record system.
2. They are growing beyond urgent care toward chronic disease management and having a larger impact on population health. Retail clinics can help reduce unnecessary emergency department visits for health delivery systems wanting to further manage the total cost of care.
3. Retail clinics are forming relationships with medical schools and teaching hospitals, including Cleveland Clinic and the University of Chicago Medical Center’s relationships with CVS Health’s MinuteClinics.
4. Walgreens’ in-store clinics are coordinating care for patients and invested in the Epic EHR for a communications and IT infrastructure.
5. The Little Clinic in Kroger stores is going even further to work with preventative services on healthy food choices, dieticians and managing consumer issues such as diabetes or allergies.
6. The retail clinics have self check-in kiosks for appointments and provide blood pressure, pulse, weight and BMI through self-serving machines. At Walmart, customers can get a full physical for $40.
7. In some retail clinic models, pharmacists are taking on medication therapy management roles for patients. The retail clinics are already part of the patient’s community and close-by in the neighborhood, which could improve adherence.
8. Consumers are learning to manage high-deductible health plans, making the lower costs at retail clinics attractive.