Apr 14
The Medical Marts, which were housed in Meijer stores in Aurora, Algonquin and St. Charles, were different than their competitors in that financing came from private sources and staff at the sites included physicians.
Two of the leading providers of retail clinics, Walgreens and CVS stores, differ in that these locations are financed by large corporations and are directed by nurse practitioners.
Not only are their numbers continuing to grow, albeit probably at a slower pace, but additional types of business arrangements are being pursued with hospitals and large employers.
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Feb 11
I’m of two minds about Wal-Mart’s (NYSE: WMT) impending move into health care. The retailer announced plans last week to open co-branded health clinics in its Supercenter stores, starting this April. Is this a great new growth strategy that will propel the company to finally fulfill its true potential? Or is it just another me-too reaction to competitive pressure from the likes of CVS (NYSE: CVS) and Walgreen (NYSE: WAG)?
Patient history
Utilizing third-party partners has helped Wal-Mart move into new business segments in the past. Its jewelry and shoe departments were originally leased operations, with Wal-Mart simply collecting rent for the use of space in stores. Eventually, as the company figured out how to run these businesses, Wal-Mart phased out these partners and took over. Read the rest of this entry »
Feb 08
Little Rock, Arkansas will host the first medical care walk-in clinic inside a Wal-Mart that is owned and operated by the giant retailer.
Atlanta and Dallas are next in line for The Clinic at Wal-Mart walk-in centers. The plan is to have 400 walk-in clinics in two years.
The Clinic at Wal-Mart will be patterned after the RediClinic, a chain of walk-in clinics that already outlet inside 13 Wal-Marts in three states. The company will partner in half of the new clinics.
Aligning with local hospitals, the clinics will be run by “licensed, certified providers” who can diagnose, treat and prescribe.
For example, in Arkansas, a nurse practitioner employed by the St. Vincent Health System will be able to treat you for a sore throat, sinus infection or earache. You can also receive a health screening, test, vaccination and basic physical.
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Feb 08
Metro Atlantans soon will have the option of getting medical care at Wal-Mart.
The giant retailer said Thursday it is expanding its in-store clinic network and plans to open its first co-branded clinics this spring at Supercenter stores in Atlanta, Little Rock and Dallas.
“The Clinic at Wal-Mart” outlets will be run in association with local hospital systems, the company said.
Specific metro Atlanta locations and hospital partners weren’t disclosed in Thursday’s announcement.
Wal-Mart said it expects to have 400 “Clinic at Wal-Mart” outlets by 2010, calling the move “further proof of Wal-Mart’s commitment to providing affordable, accessible solutions to America’s health care challenges.”
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Feb 07
Moving to upgrade its walk-in medical clinic business, Wal-Mart is set to announce on Thursday plans for several hundred new clinics at its stores, using a standardized format and jointly branded with hospitals and medical groups.
The first of the new Clinic at Wal-Mart walk-in centers, as they will be called, is to open in Little Rock, Ark., in April and be run by nurse practitioners employed by the St. Vincent Health System, a three-hospital group in central Arkansas.
Wal-Mart also says it plans to brand 200 of the new clinics with RediClinics, one of the Revolution Health companies of Steven Case, the AOL co-founder. Those are to be operated in partnership with various local health care providers. RediClinic, which already operates 13 clinics in Wal-Mart stores, plans to open one of the new units in Atlanta in April and another in Dallas next summer.
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