Retail Healthcare News

The latest location for the fast-growing Brentwood-based health care company is in Lake Orion, Mich.

The Little Clinic was founded in 2003 and locations are staffed with nurse practitioners and certified physician assistants.

The clinics diagnose, treat and write prescriptions for common illnesses such as bronchitis, step throat and the flu and also treat minor injuries.

Clinics operate out of Publix, Kroger and Fry’s Food Stores in seven states.

Source: Nashville Business Journal
Original Publication Date: March 11, 2008

Convenient health care just became a little easier to access for CIGNA HealthCare members in Dallas-Fort Worth, and Little Rock, Ark. as the company adds MedBasics Family Health Centers to its network, effective March 1, 2008.

“MedBasics Family Health Centers work well for the average American, always on the go,” said Kenneth Phenow, M.D., market medical executive for CIGNA. “From the parent trying to get a child’s immunizations up to date while running between children’s many activities to the working adult trying to get a minor illness checked during a lunch hour, retail clinics offer an affordable, efficient and convenient option.”

MedBasics Family Health Centers are located in Carnival Super Markets in Dallas-Fort Worth and inside USA Drug Stores in Little Rock, Ark., and are open seven days a week, with extended evening and weekend hours. Members who visit MedBasics can receive a variety of routine, non-urgent and preventative medical services including immunizations, flu shots and treatments of common illnesses such as allergies, bladder infections, bronchitis, ear and sinus infections, fever and strep throat. Most visits are completed in an average of 15 minutes.

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The Little Clinic–based out of Brentwood, TN–which runs more than 40 retail clinics inside of Kroger and Publix supermarkets, has agreed to formally adopt proposed clinic standards established by the American Academy of Family Physicians. The standards, which the AAFP tags as “desired attributes,” include that the retail clinic should have a limited scope of clinical services, practice evidence-based medicine, have connections with local physician practices, have a referral system for care outside its scope, and use electronic medical records to gather accurate and comprehensive data for use by the primary physician.

While none of these standards are likely to change the way Little Clinics work too much, you could still call this effort an olive branch to the medical community, some of which still violently opposes the existence of such clinics. Now, one is left to ponder whether the retail chain’s peers will make similar good-will gestures toward leading physician groups. Wonder if Wal-Mart has any such plans?

Source: FierceHealthcare
Original Publication Date: February 22, 2008

David Fielder has joined The Little Clinic as a Regional Manager of Operations.

Fielder will oversee all clinic operations for The Little Clinic locations in and around Nashville, which include offices in Bellevue, Hermitage, Murfreesboro and Spring Hill.

He brings nine years of healthcare experience to the company.

Prior to joining The Little Clinic, Fielder was employed by Evercare and Bordeaux Long Term Care.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., The Little Clinic specializes in customer-focused healthcare with a mission to provide convenient, affordable healthcare and wellness education.

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This is my local grocery store, where I am waiting in line*, observing a brand new addition – a retail clinic. In a grocery store.

They call this little shack “The Little Clinic”. Clearly. What makes me laugh though, is the signs in the background stating that this is a “perfect compliment to your primary care provider”. My question, of course, is: How?

How is this complimentary in the least? Do you actually think that the doctor will be informed of the “diagnosis” arrived at by the provider? Neither do I.

What I do know, however, is that the CVS store next door recently opened a retail clinic and was apparently taking too much business away from this store’s pharmacy – located just off camera to the left. I’m sure we’re all much happier knowing that this little shack is taking care of patient complaints.

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