Dublin, Dec. 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Retail Clinics 2017: The Game-Changer in Healthcare" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.
Few things in healthcare can be as potentially disruptive as retail clinics, and for that reason so much attention is focused on them. By their very existence, they could threaten and/or complement at least five parts of the healthcare system - hospitals, doctor's offices, government and private insurance payors, pharmaceutical and device markers (particularly makers of POC test devices). They are brought up in discussions of healthcare reform and repeal, in cost-cutting for governments or better preventive care. They are seen as the answer in some quarters and controversial in others. And they have grown, from a few hundred store locations a decade ago, to thousands. If projections are correct, they will continue to grow and change the way healthcare is delivered.
There are several ways this will happen, all of which are a focus of this report, Retail Clinics 2017:
- They upend the normal healthcare delivery environment by providing healthcare services where the consumers are, in retail environments, as opposed to the normal status of relying on patients to go to the healthcare provider.
- They are a lower cost solution than the emergency room and can be used both to compete for insurance company business with high-cost ERs and also be used by healthcare organizations to reduce the traffic at the ER.
- They could help or hurt physician practice. On one hand, they offer better hours on average and do provide treatment for routine services like colds and flus. On the other hand, they they do refer patients - even to the point of suggesting the patient obtain a primary care doctor - and don't provide all services.
- They are already a source of focus in the in vitro diagnostics industry, as major IVDs develop testing units for both retail and urgent care clinics.
- They are building consumer awareness and reputation in each additional year of their existence, which is now more than 15 years, with favorable waiting times and hours. As our report indicates, high satisfaction ratings are routinely earned.
- They are in the forefront of electronic medical records and technology in healthcare, introducing EMR, billing innovation and virtual waiting room technology that physician offices are only slowly adapting to.
More and More Clinic Locations
Drug store retail clinic locations have boomed in recent years. Many service providers have established retail clinics. Although many of these clinics may not achieve their expansion objectives, the significant opportunities currently offered by the expanding convenience clinic market suggest that the number of players will only grow and some of these will be successful, according to the report. Furthermore, a similar proliferation of treatment facilities spurred by strong customer demand has occurred in other segments of the health care marketplace, notably the aesthetics market.
A Growing Retail Clinics Market
In 2016, total U.S. retail clinic sales are estimated at more than $1.4 billion, an increase of 20.3% per year from $518 million in 2010. Through 2020, sales are expected to continue expanding. Strong historic growth has been driven by aggressive expansion, particularly by MinuteClinic, which is now owned by CVS. Other brands are expected to follow, according to this report.
Retail clinics by nature are designed to occupy small spaces and provide just basic care. Therefore, they do not use most of the sophisticated medical equipment found in hospitals or specialty centers such as advanced imaging devices. However, retail clinics are becoming relatively large users of point-of-care (POC) tests, clinical chemistry and immunoassay laboratory tests and vaccines. In 2015, combined sales of these three types of products to retail clinics reached $240 million, with vaccines accounting for a greater share than POC tests or laboratory tests. This reflects total annual growth of over 26% per year since 2010, when retail clinics accounted for about $75 million in purchases of these products. All three of these products will exhibit solid growth, with total sales of POC tests, clinical chemistry and immunoassay laboratory tests and vaccines to retail clinics accounting for over $618 million in 2020.
In this regard, patient flow and throughput are extremely important, since the differentiating factor of convenience clinics that has allowed them to compete so successfully against medical practices has been their accessibility. Low or no waiting times have been a key aspect of this. If the clinics become so popular that waiting times approach those of doctors' offices, their competitive advantage will be significantly reduced and many consumers could migrate back to their doctor's office for routine care. This scheduling problem is ultimately one of balancing supply and demand, and is made more challenging by the fact that many of the variables affecting these factors cannot be quickly adjusted. For example, the supply of services varies with the number of clinics in a particular area, their size and staffing levels; contingencies (additional clinics, temporary ramp up in staffing, etc.) cannot be easily established to handle temporary overflows.
On the demand side, advertising and promotion can be increased to address lagging consumer interest but if that interest proves too high for the supply of services, adjusting demand downward without creating ill will among future potential customers could be more challenging. Managing growth and ensuring appropriate availability of services will therefore be key, particularly for convenience clinic chains with ambitious expansion plans.
Key Topics Covered:
1: Executive Summary
- Scope and Methodology
- The U.S. Healthcare Market - Environment for Retail Clinics
- Retail Clinics History/Business Model
- Retail Clinics Market
- Survey of Retail Clinic Customers
2: Market Developments
- Consistent Retail Clinic Store Growth
- Positive Consumer Reaction
- Retail Clinics and Reducing Low Acuity ER Visits
- Legacy Healthcare Relationships Are Key
- Chronic Care Patients Still a Moving Target for Clinics.
- JAMA Waiting Times Survey a Boon to Retail Clinics
- If You Can't Beat Them... Hospitals Enter Retail Clinic
- High Cost of Care
- U.S. Health Care Coverage of the Non Elderly, 2014
- Inconsistent Quality of Care
- Retail Clinic Driver - Delays to Treatment
- The History of Retail Clinics
- Tweaking the Retail Clinic Business Model
- Nurse Practitioner Labor Supply and Regulation
- Sales Estimate and Forecast
- Retail Clinic Target Customers
- Insurance
- Reaction from Managed Care Organizations
- Outlets for Retail Clinics: Drugstores, Boxstores, Groceries
- Systems and Scheduling
- Funding and Expansion
3: 2017 Information Retail Clinic Consumer Survey
- Have You Visited a Retail Clinic?
- Do You Have a Regular Physician?
- How Often Have You Visited The Retail Clinic?
- Where You Satisfied with Your Retail Clinic Visit?
- Did You Know the Ailment You Had?
- Other Survey Results
- Work
- Income
- Region
- Race/Ethnicity
4: Retail Clinic Market Size And Market Share Analysis
- Market Situation
- Retail Clinic Services Sales Forecast
- Revenue Per Patient, Patients Per Day
- Market Forecast
- Competitive Positions of Key Players
- Position of Retail Clinic Market Players, 2016
- Minute Clinic
- Walgreens Boots Alliance
- The Little Clinic
- RediClinic and Walgreens
- Other Retail Clinic Brands
5: IVD & Vaccine Sales To Retail Clinics
- Retail Clinics as Markets for Suppliers
- Point of Care Tests
- The POC Testing Industry
- Competitive Positions of Key Players
- Convenience Clinic Sales Forecasts
- Clinical Chemistry and Immunoassays
- Sales by Type
- The Industry
- Competitive Positions of Key Players
- Vaccines
- Sales by Type
- The Industry
- Outlets for Retail Clinics
- Drug Store - Market Share Analysis
6: Trends To Watch
- Physician Shortages
- Public Awareness
- Competition with Primary Care Providers
- Regulation
- Overview
- Regulation of Convenience Clinics
- Pending Legislation
- Streamlining of Services
7: Company Profiles
- Access Health
- AMA
- AtlantiCare
- Aurora Quick Care
- Care Today
- CVS
- MedDirect
- MinuteClinic
- My Healthy Access
- Now Medical Centers
- PFS
- RediClinic
- Target Clinic Medical Associates
- The Little Clinic
- Wal Mart
- Walgreens Boots Alliance
- Wellness Express
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/tlg3mw/retail_clinics_in?w=12