Patients Increasingly Turn to Retail Clinics for Minor Needs

The use of retail-based health clinics in pharmacies, grocery stores and shopping outlets to treat minor health conditions rose tenfold from 2007 to 2009, with the largest growth seen among healthy, high-income adults, according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Managed Care. For the study, researchers examined Aetna claims data for 13.3 million patients in 22 different health care markets from 2007 to 2009. Over the three-year study period, the monthly rate of retail clinic use increased from 0.3 visits per 1,000 people to 2.7 visits per 1,000 individuals.

• "Retail Clinic Use Grows Among Young, Healthy, Wealthy" (Walker, MedPage Today, 11/18).
• "Use of Retail Medical Clinics Is Rising, Study Says" (Helfand, "Money & Company," Los Angeles Times, 11/22).