Medical Marts ceased operations, shuttering more than a dozen clinics in the last month it operated in Illinois, Missouri, Virginia and Utah. The company was founded four years ago and operated in various retailers including Shopko stores and Meijer supercenter stores.
“The venture capitalists backing the company had a change of heart and decided to go another direction with their funding,” said Dr. Kenneth Richmond, a Wilmette physician and vice president and chief medical officer of Medical Marts, which had its corporate offices in Las Vegas.
In Illinois, Medical Marts had opened clinics in Aurora, Algonquin and St. Charles in Meijer supercenter stores, but Medical Marts had also been working with Shopko and other retailers.
Unlike the burgeoning number of retail clinics that are largely staffed by advanced-degree nurses known as nurse practitioners, Medical Marts staffed its clinics with two full-time primary-care physicians, as well as two full-time medical assistants or licensed practical nurses.
Medical Marts had escaped the scrutiny and criticism of the retail clinics opened by the likes of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Walgreen Co. that are staffed by nurse practitioners.
Medical groups such as the American Medical Association say clinics’nurse practitioners should have direct access to a physician and referral systems so patients with severe medical issues can be treated elsewhere.
But working with doctors can be more expensive. Staffing a clinic with two family physicians can cost more than $250,000 a year, according to salary surveys. By comparison, a licensed nurse practitioner might cost a retailer $60,000 or more a year, according to health professional salary surveys.
Founded four years ago, Medical Marts had a goal of 400 clinics in retail outlets across the country by the end of 2009.
Despite Medical Marts’ decision, retail medicine continues to grow. There are more than 900 retail medical clinics in the U.S., according to Merchant Medicine, a Minneapolis-based research and consulting firm that advises medical-care providers and employers on how to work within the retail clinic industry.
While companies like Medical Marts that are backed by private equity have had difficulty expanding, retail clinics backed largely by giant retailers with clinics staffed by nurse practitioners continue to expand rapidly.
CVS/Caremark Corp. subsidiary MinuteClinic, for example, said last week it opened its 500th clinic. Meanwhile, Walgreen Co. said it has nearly 150 of its Take Care brand clinics and plans to have 400 in its stores by the end of this year.
“We’re strongly committed to the in-store clinic model and are seeing high levels of
patient satisfaction and increased use of the clinics as awareness builds,” said Walgreens president and chief operating officer Greg Wasson. “Take Care is the platform we intend to use to bring additional healthcare services to markets, such as immunizations/vaccinations and wellness programs.”
Source: Chicago Tribune
Original Publication Date: March 12, 2008
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