Aug 18
Valerie Fortunato asked a series of questions about his medical history, then performed an examination including checking his ears, eyes and throat, and listening to his lungs and heart.
In about 30 minutes, White left with a diagnosis of a sinus infection and prescriptions for antibiotics, antihistamine and a nasal steroid.
Fortunato is an advanced registered nurse practitioner, and her clinic is a gray-walled box inside a Publix supermarket.
Welcome to another facet of the future of medicine.
Read the rest of this entry »
Aug 15
The Little Clinic opened its eighth location in Orlando on July 22.
Little Clinic’s newest convenient care location is in a Publix, 1720 E. Silver Star Road, Ocoee. The company is headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., and has clinics in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Tennessee.
Little Clinic’s are open seven days a week and are staffed by nurse practitioners or physicians assistants that care for patients older than 12-months-old. Besides diagnosing common illnesses and writing prescriptions, they also provide physicals, sports exams and vaccinations.
Source: MSN Money
Original Publication Date: August 6, 2008
Aug 12
When retail clinics promised to be the next big thing in medical care, everyone from start-ups to national retailers opened their own versions of the walk-in clinics.
Often little more than a kiosk in a pharmacy, the clinics are staffed by a nurse practitioner treating simple ailments such as strep throat.
Now the building boom is leveling off, with several high-profile players closing outlets around the country. Those in the industry say it was simply supply outstripping demand, with too many clinics opening too quickly.
The industry, started eight years ago in Minnesota with a MinuteClinic precursor, is going through a mini shakeout.
Read the rest of this entry »
Jun 30
From the front door of his 3-month-old walk-in clinic, Bucky Boaz can keep an eye on his competition.
The corner of Alafaya Drive and Lake Underhill Road in east Orange County features a Florida Hospital Centra Care, a Walgreens Take Care Health Clinic and a CVS Minute Clinic — in addition to The miniER that Boaz co-owns. A Publix Little Clinic is less than 2 miles away.
Nevertheless, business is brisk at The mini- ER, especially since mid-May, when Boaz had an outdoor-advertising balloon put up at the busy intersection. A nurse practitioner with 10 years of emergency-room experience, Boaz said his Waterford Lakes clinic is treating about 175 patients a week.
Read the rest of this entry »
Jun 01
Kroger Co. says it has made a “significant” investment in The Little Clinic LLC to support a rollout of the in-store health centers across its locations nationwide.
Currently, Little Clinic operates 26 walk-in clinics inside Kroger-owned stores. The clinics handle minor illnesses and injuries like bronchitis, sinus infections and sprains, and also provide physicals, screenings and vaccinations.
Kroger, headquartered in Cincinnati, operates more than 2,400 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 31 states.
Read the rest of this entry »