Bernie Monegain: 5 Ways Retail Clinics are Poised to Upend Healthcare

1. They are a lower-cost solution than the emergency room and can be used both to compete for insurance company business with high-cost emergency rooms and also be used by healthcare organizations to reduce the traffic at the ER.
2. As 85 percent of retail clinic patients have a physician they have seen regularly, they are a potential boon or threat to the doctor's office. On one hand, they offer better hours on average and do provide treatment for routine services like colds and flu
3. They are already a source of focus in the in vitro diagnostics industry, as major IVDs develop testing units for both retail and urgent care clinics.
4. They are building consumer awareness and reputation year over year, and they've been around more than 15 years, with favorable waiting times and hours, and they continue to receive high ratings.
5. They are in the forefront of electronic medical records and technology in healthcare, introducing EMR, billing innovation and virtual waiting room technology that physician offices are slowly adopting.

Notes: http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/cancer-care-affordability-can-influence-mortality-symptoms-patients-american-society-clinical