In previous posts, I discussed the trend of retail clinics, which are walk-in clinics located in grocery stores and commercial pharmacies that treat minor conditions with menu-style pricing and no appointments. At the time, it seemed that the market for retail clinics was growing exponentially nationwide and that only the sky was the limit.

However, several stories over the last year have reported how several retail clinics were closing across the country, while others were shut down temporarily during the slow spring and summer months. This has led some people to wonder whether the market has become over-saturated and if the bubble already burst.

In 2008, the retail clinic market grew by 350% as the number of clinics nationwide reached almost 1,000 clinics. However, that growth slowed down to just 30% in 2008, and then was -5% in the first part of 2009 (according to the latest available numbers). For example, RediClinic (whose clinics are located in large Texas retail chain H-E-B) went from more than 50 clinics in operation in 2007 to 35 in mid-2008 and only 20 clinics by mid-2009. CVS-owned MinuteClinic closed 104 struggling clinics in the first part of 2009, because of low consumer demand. However, the clinics were reopened in the fall with the start of the flu season.

Despite these recent setbacks, a recent report suggests that while this first wave of growth might be over, the industry might be ready for a second wave in the next few years, albeit based on different models. It predicts that 2009 marked a pause between wave one and wave two of retail clinic growth and that “cautious growth is likely to resume from 2010-2011 and then accelerate from 2012-2014,”and that the total number of clinics is estimated to reach 4,000 clinics in 2015.”

The current scope of practice for retail clinics includes mostly ten simple acute conditions and preventative care:

• upper respiratory infections
• urinary tract infections
• sinusitis
• bronchitis
• pharyngitis
• otitis media
• otitis externa
• conjunctivitis
• immunizations
• screening laboratory tests/blood pressure checks

The report suggests that the next wave of growth will mean that retail clinics will start doing more pharmacy dispensing and delivery (infusion/injection), optometry, hearing, home health aides, and additional prevention programs around wellness and healthy living. Beyond that, clinics will start focusing more on services that include advanced care/disease management for chronic conditions.

For example, Take Care (at Walgreens) is piloting chronic disease management as well as injection and infusion services, while MinuteClinic now provides obesity screenings and smoking cessation.