Health insurance paid for 67 percent of visits to retail health clinics...

**NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN** · Sep 13, 2008

health insurance paid for 67 percent of visits to retail health clinics, according to a study published in health affairs.

researchers pooled data from 1.35 million visits to more than 300 clinics operated by eight different companies in a variety of stores, including wal-mart, cvs and walgreen, reported the wall street journal. most of the conditions cared for in retail clinics likely do not require the level of training of a physician, the authors said, as roughly 90 percent of patients came for one of ten relatively simple treatments, including ear infections, upper respiratory infections, immunizations and blood pressure checks, the journal noted. three-fifths of patients did not report having a primary care provider, which suggests that clinics would not lead to further fragmentation of care by disrupting the patient-doctor relationship, although it is possible that the clinics prevent some patients from going to the doctor and forming those relationships in the first place, the journal added.

wall street journal, september 11, 2008 (subscription required)

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