As Obamacare Rolls Out, Retail Clinics are Booming Again
Strategic Marketing Management
Current Events # 2: As Obamacare Rolls Out, Retail Clinics are Booming Again
This article describes how Retail Clinics are emerging as a new business model in the healthcare industry to satisfy the need for convenience, timely and affordable medical services, especially with the Affordable Care Act in motion.
Retail Clinics started to appear in 2006 and are becoming more and more popular. The fundamental model is the same: offer a limited number of basic ambulatory services on a walk-in basis, minimize the cost of care by operating in a small space and lower-cost labor (by utilizing nurse practitioners); maintain quality with technology, physician oversight availability and strict protocols.
Retail Clinics operate inside drug stores such as CVS (Minute-Clinics) or Ride-Aid (Lindora Medical Clinic), grocery stores such as Albertson’s (MemorialCare Health Express_MHE) and mass- merchandise retailers such as Wal-Mart (Quick Health). They offer long service hours: Mon-Fri 9 am - 9 pm, Sat 9 am - 5 pm, Sun 10 am - 6 pm (MHE) and visits usually last about 15 minutes with almost no waiting time period. Their prices are already set and the range of services clearly defined. Patients know what to expect because they have access to prices and services. As an example, the diagnosis of common illness is $59 at Memorial Health Express in contrast to the price in a doctor’s office that can be anything from $98.00 to $200 for patients with no insurance coverage.
From a strategic perspective, clinic operators differentiate themselves by the type of location, local geography and customer service. When considering the location channel, they rely on the foot traffic, the number of shoppers who physically walk past the clinic each day and consumer interest in health services
Retail Clinics use customer service as their competitive advantage. For example, some clinics offer online check-in, online search for locations with short waiting time,
Current Events # 2: As Obamacare Rolls Out, Retail Clinics are Booming Again
This article describes how Retail Clinics are emerging as a new business model in the healthcare industry to satisfy the need for convenience, timely and affordable medical services, especially with the Affordable Care Act in motion.
Retail Clinics started to appear in 2006 and are becoming more and more popular. The fundamental model is the same: offer a limited number of basic ambulatory services on a walk-in basis, minimize the cost of care by operating in a small space and lower-cost labor (by utilizing nurse practitioners); maintain quality with technology, physician oversight availability and strict protocols.
Retail Clinics operate inside drug stores such as CVS (Minute-Clinics) or Ride-Aid (Lindora Medical Clinic), grocery stores such as Albertson’s (MemorialCare Health Express_MHE) and mass- merchandise retailers such as Wal-Mart (Quick Health). They offer long service hours: Mon-Fri 9 am - 9 pm, Sat 9 am - 5 pm, Sun 10 am - 6 pm (MHE) and visits usually last about 15 minutes with almost no waiting time period. Their prices are already set and the range of services clearly defined. Patients know what to expect because they have access to prices and services. As an example, the diagnosis of common illness is $59 at Memorial Health Express in contrast to the price in a doctor’s office that can be anything from $98.00 to $200 for patients with no insurance coverage.
From a strategic perspective, clinic operators differentiate themselves by the type of location, local geography and customer service. When considering the location channel, they rely on the foot traffic, the number of shoppers who physically walk past the clinic each day and consumer interest in health services
Retail Clinics use customer service as their competitive advantage. For example, some clinics offer online check-in, online search for locations with short waiting time,