Hearing aid stores are just one of several examples of medical care that have popped up in retail venues in recent years. Currently, there are some 450 retail clinics nationwide and a significant increase is expected over the next five years – to as many as 6,000 clinics – according to WebMD. States have different requirements for the staffi ng and operation of retail clinics.
Yet the trend toward retail medicine has not proceeded without diffi culty. In August, a plan to build clinics in Dallas Walmarts stalled, with no clinics opening after the retailer had leased space in several stores to outside companies. In mid-April, four clinics in supermarkets in the Dallas area closed down.
However, CVS Caremark Corp. increased the number of its clinics in the Dallas area and three Walmart medical clinics in the Houston area reopened in August after temporarily shutting down due to staffing difficulties. The clinics reopened with paramedics offering medical services to patients and directed by physicians via video technology.
Just as some audiologists express concern about retail hearing aid stores, other medical professionals have sounded an alarm over patients dropping in to a storefront clinic for a throat culture or vaccination. The counterargument is that retail clinics force established physicians to be more innovative in their treatment and operations, providing more value to patients in terms of access, quality and cost. ■
