Slide Presentation from the AHRQ 2007 Annual Conference

Related Problem - Pediatrician's Perspective

• Retail-based clinics (RBCs) appeal to families
• RBCs being developed by Wal-Mart, Targets, CVS, Walgreen and others
• RBCs have the capacity to address most minor acute illness episodes that generate 52% of office visits* for children < 15 years
• RBCs appeal to public and private payers
• RBCs threaten continuity of care

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* 2004 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey

Notes:

Here's another issue ... a rapidly developing problem for the primary care pediatrician.

> Retail-based clinics (RBCs) appeal to families ... and understandably so. What working parent of a preschooler doesn't have too many demands on their time? In light of their rapid growth, it's obvious that RBCs are filling an important need ... parents can address healthcare needs of their children, and themselves, in the same trips they make to feed and clothe their families.

> Marketed under such names as Minute Clinic, Quick Clinic and
And catchy slogans such as "you're sick, we're quick", RBCs are being developed rapidly by such dominant firms as Wal-Mart, Targets, CVS, Walgreen.

> They have the capacity to address the minor acute illness episodes that generate 52% of primary care pediatric visits and also about half the revenue for pediatric practices.
Hing E, Cherry DK, Woodwell DA. National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2004 summary. Advance data from vital and health statistics; no 374. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2006. Table 10, p19

> To make things worse, RBCs appeal to 3rd party payers because they offer an equally convenient, but much less costly, alternative to the emergency department.

In addition to their economic threat, RBCs threaten continuity of care with the medical home. Confronted by a choice between convenience and continuity for a minor problem, parents understandably will choose convenience almost every time.