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:
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
2: Market Developments
3: 2017 Information Retail Clinic Consumer Survey
4: Retail Clinic Market Size And Market Share Analysis
5: IVD & Vaccine Sales To Retail Clinics
6: Trends To Watch
7: Company Profiles
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/tlg3mw/retail_clinics_in?w=12