Retail clinics increasingly popular option

Retail clinics have become a growing part of the U.S. health care landscape over the past few years, with a projected number of 3,000 nationwide this year. Some of the attractions for patients include convenient hours, lower copays than EDs, and easy access. Primary care physicians, however, worry about the quality and scope of the care provided, as well as potential effects on care continuity and the patient-physician relationship. Staff writer Mollie Durkin talks to experts about potential reasons behind the clinics' surge, research on outcomes, and ways in which primary care physicians can address this avenue of care with the patients in their practices.

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Do many of your patients visit retail clinics? How, if at all, are they affecting your practice? Let us know.

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Jennifer Kearney-Strouse