Retail Clinics Among Trends Influencing Health Care
KQED's "Health Dialogues" -- a live, monthly call-in program sponsored by the California Endowment to examine health care issues in the state -- on Thursday will begin airing on public radio stations statewide a discussion about the influence of retail clinics and other trends on health care delivery in California ("Health Dialogues," KQED, 7/20).
Retail clinics typically are based in chain pharmacies and large retail establishments. The clinics offer treatment for minor, nonurgent illnesses, including strep throat and ear infections. Most clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners, and visits typically cost between $40 and $70.
There currently are 150 retail clinics nationwide, with three in California, but thousands of new clinics are expected to open within the next two years, according to a report by the California HealthCare Foundation (California Healthline, 7/18).
Guests on the program are scheduled to include:
- Michael Howe, president and CEO of Minute Clinic, a Minneapolis-based retail clinic firm;
- Margaret Laws, director of the public financing and policy program at CHCF;
- Jack Lewin, president of the California Medical Association;
- David Mandelkern, president and CEO of Quickhealth, a Burlingame-based operator of retail clinics;
- Curtis Terry, president of Aetna Health of California; and
- Anthony Wright, executive director of health care advocacy group Health Access ("Health Dialogues," KQED, 7/20).