"The Clinic" at Walmart - Operated by "Family Medicine Specialists"

Medical clinics debut at Walmart stores and the photos from one Chicago location are included in this blog post (click to enlarge the images to see the details such as pricing, etc.).

Walmart has been adding health clinics to its stores during the last 3 years as part of its drive for "one-stop shopping." There were 100 in-store clinics in 21 states in 2010.

The clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners. Does that fit the description of "Family Medicine Specialists"?

Services include $14 for a pregnancy test, $29 for a flu vaccine, and $49 for treatment of a sinus infection or physical examination. The most expensive services cost $75, for treatment of bladder infections and ear wax removal.



CVS Pharmacy is not too far behind with their own model for in-store clinics called the "Minute Clinic". In fact, Minute Clinic is the largest retail clinic chain in the country, with 600 clinics in CVS stores in 24 states. Almost half of Minute Clinic's clientele don't have a primary-care doctor of their own.

A patient's mother: "The beauty of it is we're maybe 30 feet from diagnosis to pharmacy. I'm very busy and this is one-stop shopping."

References:

Medical clinic debuts at city's Walmart store
Medical clinics in retail settings are booming - USA Today.
Number of patients receiving care at retail clinics (Target, Walmart, etc.) increases http://goo.gl/9B74c
"The Family Doctor, Minus the M.D." - NYTimes keeps pushing the idea of "The Nurse as Family Doctor" http://buff.ly/R1rbn9

Comments from Twitter:

@langdon: False advertising. That would actually be sanctioned here in Ontario as per recent guidance about specialty titles from our College.

@napernurse: Pharm son works for #Walgreens. Costs them $5 to be seen by NP for whatever :) Can just walk-in & now WAG on "Blue Button" campaign.

Reinaldo B. @basanezrx: at least they are clear about the pricing, same as the clinics in Walgreens. I’d love to see specific prices for hospitals.