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BOSTON — Massachusetts lawmakers passed a massive healthcare bill that seeks to control healthcare costs and expands the services of limited-service clinics to allow for anything within the scope of practice for a nurse practitioner.

The legislation, which Gov. Deval Patrick said he would sign into law, includes an array of other cost-curbing provisions and is estimated to save as much as $200 billion in healthcare spending over the next 15 years.

NEW YORK — With the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act extending health insurance to some 30 million Americans amid an already fragile primary care network, retail-based health clinics are likely to see an influx of patients turning to them for healthcare services.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Little Clinic on Monday announced the opening of two convenient care clinics within Kroger in the Atlanta area. Two additional clinic openings are slated for August, which would bring the total number of locations in Georgia to six.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens in May named Alan London chief medical officer of Take Care Health Systems Consumer Solutions Group. In the newly created position, London will have leadership responsibility in building and maintaining external physician and health system relationships for Take Care Clinics while also providing strategic direction and leadership for the group’s service expansion, quality, clinical education and training, and collaborative practice agreement functions.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Little Clinic and King Soopers have partnered with University of Colorado health professionals to develop new initiatives, including a clinical affiliation agreement, to expand health-and-wellness services.

The CU School of Medicine, College of Nursing and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, along with University Physicians Inc., King Soopers and The Little Clinic have entered into a clinical affiliation agreement.

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. — Walgreens-owned clinic operator Take Care Clinics now is offering three new diagnostic tests and administrative physicals — a move that also advances the Well at Walgreens strategy to enhance services as a community healthcare provider and transform to a health and daily living destination.

The launch of these new services is based on input from patients, managed care organizations and healthcare providers on ways to help prevent the progression of disease and use the most appropriate point of care, the company said.

WOONSOCKET, R.I., and MORRISTOWN, N.J. — CVS Caremark’s MinuteClinic has formed a clinical affiliation with Atlantic Health System, one of the largest nonprofit healthcare systems in New Jersey — comprised of Morristown Medical Center, Goryeb Children's Hospital, Overlook Medical Center in Summit, N.J., and Newton Medical Center — to enhance access to healthcare services in northern and central New Jersey.

NEW YORK — An article recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shed a highly positive light on the convenient care industry, and outlined significant ways in which retail-based clinics are playing an important role in today’s U.S. healthcare system by improving access, cost and coordination of care for patients.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — MinuteClinic announced on Thursday the debut of two walk-in medical clinics inside CVS/pharmacy stores located in San Antonio.

The retail clinic operator, which opened its doors in the Lone Star state in 2006, now operates 45 clinics inside select CVS/pharmacy stores in Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth and San Antonio markets. In addition to the two clinics, a third is slated to open later this year.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Little Clinic has announced that it has earned reaccreditation from the Joint Commission by continuing to demonstrate compliance with the highest national standards for healthcare safety and quality of care.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Kroger, The Little Clinic initially earned accreditation and the Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval in 2009 and is only the second retail healthcare provider to receive reaccreditation from the Joint Commission.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — The news that Take Care Clinics now are offering wellness services for Medicare enrollees clearly demonstrates that there’s an opportunity for retail clinics to fill gaps in care, and promote wellness and better patient outcomes.

(THE NEWS: Take Care Clinics offering Medicare wellness visits. For the full story, click here.)


NEW YORK — MinuteClinic is on track to double its clinic count in the coming years, posting a 40% revenue increase in the fourth quarter and inking 14 affiliations with health systems. This is no doubt an impressive feat for the clinic operator, but it also speaks to a larger growth trend sweeping the convenient care industry.