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Earlier this month, Walgreens announced that immunization records would be sent directly from its more than 7,800 Walgreens and Duane Reade stores and 350 Take Care Clinics to primary care providers over Surescripts’ electronic prescribing network using Surescripts’ Clinical Interoperability services. And later this year, the company plans to share immunization data with local and state public health agencies, and share Take Care Clinic patient summaries with primary care providers. Drug Store News recently had the opportunity to speak with Surescripts president and CEO Harry Totonis about the new service.

This month Walgreens announced that it would begin to offer chronic care services at its Take Care Clinics. Its biggest competitor, MinuteClinic, made a similar announcement about a year ago. With full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the people paying the bills are going to get a good look at what retail clinics can do to lower costs and improve outcomes.

A new Kalorama Information report found that most patients — 91% — who had used a retail clinic were either satisfied or very satisfied with their visit.

The findings are in line with prior studies, which have long been reported by Drug Store News, and are yet further evidence that retail clinics are playing a vital role in the U.S. healthcare system.

Retail clinic operator Take Care Clinics, which is owned by Walgreens, is expanding the scope of services within its 300-plus clinics to include management for chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma and others, as well as additional preventive health services.

Game on! With the increasing shift to chronic care services, expect retail clinics to ramp up even quicker, creating new, more profitable revenue streams and filling huge gaps in care that save payers some serious money. The writing isn't just on the wall. It's printed in big, bold colors like graffiti on a 1970s NYC subway car.

MinuteClinic president and SVP/associate chief medical officer of CVS Caremark, Andrew Sussman, attended two separate healthcare events in London last week to discuss how MinuteClinic is improving care and access at substantially lower cost.

This is important because, regardless of whether a country has universal healthcare or not, someone has to pay for it and accessibility can still be an issue. Interestingly, a British supermarket began testing the concept of an in-store physician-staffed clinic back in 2008 in an effort to improve access. 
A key reason: Its supermarkets are often situated in a convenient location with public transport links and ample parking.

Shifting patients away from hospital emergency rooms and into retail-based and urgent care walk-in clinics can significantly lower healthcare costs, improve access to care and reduce the impact of such chronic diseases as diabetes and hyperlipidemia, two health benefits experts asserted in a recent online presentation.

Telehealth is expected to experience a sharp rise in the number of patients, according a new report by health market research firm IHS, which projects that telehealth will reach 1.8 million patients around the world by 2017.

Shifting patients away from hospital emergency rooms and into retail-based and urgent care walk-in clinics can significantly lower healthcare costs, improve access to care and reduce the impact of such chronic diseases as diabetes and hyperlipidemia, two health benefits experts asserted in a recent online presentation.

A recent survey found a significant increase in the number of U.S. adults who have visited a retail clinic in recent years. The growth is attributed to a rise in the number of clinics nationwide, as well patients’ positive response to the convenience and lower cost of such clinic locations.

The findings come as little surprise and one should expect to see increased usage going forward. Why? Because health care is becoming increasingly consumer-centric as patients not only battle rising health care costs but also a growing shortage of primary care physicians. Patients want — need — convenient, high-quality health care services that are also cost effective. Convenient care clinics are increasingly illustrating the important role they play within the U.S. healthcare system.

The number of adults who are familiar with retail clinics and have used them has increased in recent years, according to a recent study by Kalorama Information, a publisher of healthcare market research.

A new Rand Corp. study examining the impact of retail medical clinics on the receipt of primary medical care found mixed evidence about whether the clinics may disrupt doctor-patient relationships.

On pace to reach about 1,000 clinic locations by 2016 and a robust team of 1,800 nurse practitioners and physician assistants working tirelessly to provide patients convenient access to quality care, MinuteClinic has demonstrated the integral role that it plays not only within CVS Caremark’s healthcare offering but within the entire U.S. healthcare system.