In 2004, President Bush laid out the goal for most Americans to have electronic health records by 2014, and Wal-Mart seems intent on doing its part. Not only is the retailer rolling out e-health records to tens of thousands of its employees and their dependents in connection with Dossia, a consortium of eight large employers that includes AT&T (NYSE: T) and Intel (NSDQ: INTC), but it’s also requiring the use of e-health record software for patients treated at the in-store clinics it’s about to launch.

Wal-Mart unveiled the first of its “The Clinic At Wal-Mart” sites earlier this month in Arkansas, and it has plans for more than 400 in Atlanta, Dallas, and Little Rock by 2010, including rebranding some of the 55 or so clinics that now operate in Wal-Mart stores. As part of this push, Wal-Mart says it signed a letter of intent to work with RediClinic, which specializes in walk-in clinics, and local hospital systems to co-brand clinics in 200 Wal-Mart Supercenters. For example, Wal-Mart is partnering with St. Vincent Health System, a part of the Catholic Healthcare Initiatives system, to open four co-branded clinics in Little Rock. Wal-Mart expects to open more than 2,000 clinics nationwide by 2014.

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Are a patient’s symptoms more likely to get digitally documented into an electronic medical record at the convenience clinic inside Wal-Mart than at his or her own doctor’s office? Possibly.

The emergence in the last few years of convenience health clinics operated in the stores of retailers such as CVS, Walgreen’s, and now Wal-Mart has brought with it an unexpected twist.

Besides providing quick tests for strep throat and prescriptions for antibiotics by nurse practitioners working in small spaces set up somewhere between the cosmetics and pet food aisles, these retailers are deploying technology tools in their clinics that most doctors still lack in their offices — e-health records and decision-support systems.

It’s estimated that fewer than 20% of U.S. doctors have deployed e-health record systems in their offices, despite the urging by health-industry experts and government officials, who have been spotlighting IT in recent years as important tools to reduce medical errors and costs.

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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 »

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday it plans to open walk-in medical clinics under the name The Clinic at Wal-Mart in cooperation with local hospitals and the national RediClinic LLC chain to provide immediate care for patients with common ailments.

The first of the clinics, to be housed in the retailer’s supercenters, are expected to open in Little Rock and Atlanta in April. The four Little Rock clinics will be operated in partnership with St. Vincent Health System, a part of the Catholic Health Care Initiatives system.

The move is the Bentonville-based retailer’s latest effort to play a role in changing the nation’s health-care system, as well as create greater efficiency and bring down costs.

The company aims to have 400 of the clinics operating by 2010. It already contracts with RediClinic and other providers for walk-in clinics at several stores, but without a formal arrangement with local hospitals.

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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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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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