Retail health clinics grow steadily in the U.S. due to drug store chains

The number of retail health clinics in the United States is growing steadily, thanks to drug store chains, according to Kalorama Information. In recent years, as a result of the economic downturn, retail clinic growth had been at a standstill, but 2013-14 was a year of opportunities, as the number of retail clinics reached nearly 1,600 according to the healthcare market researcher's report, Retail Clinics Market Overview and 2014 Consumer Survey Results. 

Retail clinics are medical settings located in a retail store. They are not free standing and do not offer all services, yet they provide an option for busy Americans. Most of these clinic locations are located either in CVS, Walgreens, Target or Wal-Mart stores, but there are other chains and venues as well.

"For drugstore clinics it's now an essential part of strategy. So growth has been most evident in drugstore clinics, particularly CVS," said Bruce Carlson, Publisher of Kalorama Information. "Drugstore clinics can operate retail clinics because they have the potential to keep customers longer and bring in additional sales from customers visiting the clinic that day."

Kalorama points to CVS as the leader in retail clinic store locations, indicating that there are now nearly 800 Minute Clinic locations, up from just over 600 in 2012.

Over the past five years, Kalorama has analyzed clinic location growth, trends, and key operators. In this report, Kalorama attempts to find out the future of retail clinics by looking at the customers who patronize them, conducting an online panel of 2,000 U.S. adults, age 18 and over. They were queried on a variety of topics: Have they used a retail clinic? If so, were they satisfied? If not, would they consider using one?

Kalorama found that more people are using retail clinics – though not a majority of the U.S. population yet – and that a high percentage of visitors were satisfied with the experience. Visitors skew older, with a high percentage over the age of 40, and the most common reason for a visit is to receive a vaccination. The survey also gleaned information regarding number of patient visits per day, affect of store advertising, likelihood of follow-up visits, and number of clinics having a physician. Overall, the signs for the retail clinic industry are positive. The usefulness of clinics is not in doubt and conservative but steady growth in the number of stores is expected to continue.

"We've surveyed on the question of customer satisfaction a few times in recent years and the trend has always been high," Carlson said.