Retail clinics: An emerging source of health care for children

Retail clinics, also called in-store or convenient care clinics, began to appear in 2005 and now number more than 900 nationwide. Retail clinics sit within other retail settings — such as pharmacies, supermarkets, or discount stores — and offer health care for health problems such as minor rashes, sore throat, pink eye, ear infections, and bladder infections. Some retail clinics also offer preventive care, such as vaccinations and sports and camp physicals.

Retail clinics advertise convenience for consumers, short wait times without a need for an appointment, and prices lower than emergency departments and urgent care clinics. On the other hand, groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics have been critical of retail clinics because they can draw children away from their usual doctors’ offices, thereby disrupting communication between parents and physicians about children’s health.

In April 2008, the C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital’s National Poll on Children’s Health examined retail clinics as a source of health care for children.

Past and Future Use of Retail Clinics for Children

The Poll found that 29% of parents nationwide report having a retail clinic in their community. Of parents with a retail clinic in their community, about 1 out of 6 parents has taken their children to a retail clinic for care. Furthermore, about 1 in 4 parents is likely or very likely to use a retail clinic for their children in the future (Figure 1).

Past and future use of retail clinics for children did not vary by child’s insurance status or by region of the country.

Likelihood of future retail clinic use for children was strongly linked to whether children had already used a retail clinic for care (Figure 2). Nearly 2 out of 3 parents whose children had already used a retail clinic said that they were likely or very likely to use a retail clinic again for care.

Among parents who have never used a retail clinic, but have one in their community, one out of seven indicated that they are likely or very likely to use a retail clinic for their children in the future.

Alternative Sources of Health Care

Parents who had used retail clinics for their children were asked where they would have taken their children for care if the retail clinics had not been available. Nearly one-half of parents would have taken their children to a doctor’s office, and more than one-quarter said they would have taken their children to the emergency room (Table 1). Most of the remainder would have taken their children to an urgent care clinic. Very few would have foregone care entirely.

These patterns were not different for children with insurance versus those without.

Overall, 7 out of 10 parents who had used retail clinics for their children said they considered taking their children to the doctor’s office. But 40% said they could not get an appointment at the doctor’s office, and 46% said they wanted to take care of their children's problem more quickly.

Payment for Retail Clinic Visits

Retail clinics have become known as places where the uninsured can get health care at relatively low cost. But most retail clinics also contract with health insurance plans, so that patients with insurance can also get care in the retail clinic setting and their plans will pay for part or all of the visit.

In this Poll, more than three-fourths of all retail clinic visits for children were covered, at least in part, by health insurance companies. In fact, 40% of all visits were covered in full by health insurance (Table 2).