In previous posts, I discussed the trend of retail clinics, which are walk-in clinics that offer a limited number of services and are typically located in grocery stores, drugstores and general merchandise retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, and Walgreens. Typically staffed by a nurse practitioner, they have menu-style pricing and provide care with no appointments and short waiting.

Many have argued that retail clinics have the potential to increase health care access and reduce costs in the long run. However, the benefits are lost if patients are hesitant to use them because of concerns about staff qualifications, misdiagnosis, and continuity of care. A new study examines the usage of retail clinics and the factors influencing that usage by assessing the attitudes of the aging baby boomers and older adults and their willingness to use this alternative method of healthcare delivery.

Baby boomers, born between 1945 and 1965, represent the largest group of healthcare consumers. They are known to have a different set of expectations than previous generations, and to seek more healthcare services. They tend to visit the doctor more often and tend to take more medications. They also value convenience and expect to receive care as soon as they need it.

The study suggests that women are more willing to use retail clinics than men, and that willingness to use decreases with age. Surprisingly, those people without health insurance are more willing to use retail clinics than are those with insurance. While retail clinics are cheaper than a visit to the primary care doctor or emergency room, patients with no insurance still have to pay $60-$70 per visit, which is a substantial amount for a lot of people.

A common perception among many people, especially older ones, is that healthcare does not belong in a supermarket, and that only a doctor can provide high quality care. In the study, individuals who were more worried about staff qualifications or misdiagnosis were less interested in retail clinics.

The study suggests that “to facilitate the functioning of the system, maintain continuity of care, and assuage concerns about proper treatment, [retail clinics] should establish connections with and a system of referrals to physician practices in the community. Electronic record keeping that promotes two-way communication between primary care physicians and [retail clinics] can help the system operate more efficiently. An awareness of these connections and communications could alleviate patients' concerns and encourage them to utilize cost-saving [retail clinics].”