May 18, 2012

Retailer-based clinics rare in state

October 6, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Inside the Wal-Mart Supercenter in south Rogers, the staff at the RediClinic at the front of the store is preparing for the flu season — shots for the well, treatment for the sick — after finishing up the busy back-toschool sports physical examinations season.

Judy Tevebaugh, nurse practitioner and clinic manager, expects the patient load to jump to about 60 a day, up from 40 who typically come to the clinic for treatment of common ailments such as sore throats, earaches and sinus infections, as well as screenings for blood sugar, cholesterol and allergies.

The walk-in, no-appointmentneeded clinic with two examination rooms is part of a growing trend of retail store-based clinics providing quick, inexpensive treatment for those who don’t have a primary-care doctor or don’t want to wait for an appointment.

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Filed Under: MedBasics, MinuteClinic, RediClinic, Take Care Health Clinics, The Clinic at Walmart Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Some walk-in clinics closing after boom

August 12, 2008 By Leave a Comment

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.

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CIGNA Adds MedBasics to Its Network, Offering Members Added Convenience

March 10, 2008 By Leave a Comment

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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Filed Under: CareToday, MedBasics, MinuteClinic, RediClinic, Take Care Health Clinics, The Little Clinic Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

St. Vincent Health System and MedBasics Family Health Centers Announce Affiliation

February 12, 2008 By Leave a Comment

St. Vincent Health System and MedBasics, one of the leading operators of convenient care clinics in the country, have announced the execution of a formal collaboration agreement that will maximize the delivery of quality and accessible health care in Central Arkansas. MedBasics operates convenient care clinics, open seven days a week, that provide walk-in medical services inside major retail outlets for routine, non-urgent medical conditions and preventive care.Specifically, the agreement provides for St. Vincent to identify a corporate medical director and supervising physicians for new MedBasics locations in the Little Rock area. The first three MedBasics clinics in the Little Rock area opened inside USA Drug stores last month.

“We look forward to collaborating with MedBasics based on the company’s pioneering work in the convenient care clinic arena. This organization has introduced fast, affordable and accessible health care in a convenient retail setting, which will benefit Central Arkansans,” said Alan Winkler, Vice President of Clinic Operations for St. Vincent Health System.

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Retailer to open walk-in clinics

February 8, 2008 By Leave a Comment

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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Filed Under: MedBasics, RediClinic, The Clinic at Walmart Tagged With: , , , , ,

New MedBasics Family Health Centers Responds to Flu Threat By Offering Free Vaccinations

January 30, 2008 By Leave a Comment

MedBasics Family Health Centers will offer approximately 600 free flu vaccinations in the Little Rock area between February 2 and February 9, helping to combat Arkansas’ flu epidemic. The Center for Disease Control reports increased outbreaks of influenza and influenza like illnesses and currently lists influenza outbreaks in Arkansas at a regional level, the second highest category used to measure the prevalence of influenza.

And with the peak flu season coming in February, MedBasics wants to reduce the number of cases in the area. The company will offer 200 free flu shots at each of their three clinics in the Little Rock area.

The free vaccinations will be offered on Saturday, Feb. 2, at the MedBasics located inside the USA Drug store at 105 N. Rodney Parham in Little Rock, Sunday, Feb. 3, at the MedBasics location inside the USA Drug store at 3525 HWY 5 North in Bryant, and on Saturday, Feb. 9, at the MedBasics located inside the USA Drug store at 2743 Lakewood Village in North Little Rock. The vaccinations will be offered on a first-come first serve basis to anyone four years of age and up. Following this offer, MedBasics will offer $10 flu shots for the rest of the flu season, which is much less than the $30 most doctors’ offices and clinics charge.

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Clinics a fast fix when you’re sick

January 28, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Aniccia Quinonez was aching, feverish and tired. Sitting in a stiff chair for hours at the doctor’s office was the last thing she felt like doing after work Thursday, especially when Quinonez is one of the 5 million Texans without health insurance.

Instead, she went to the grocery store. Less than an hour later, she left with a diagnosis — the flu — and a filled prescription to help her get well.

“It was really easy,” she said. “This is the first time I’ve been here, but it’s fast.”

The health clinic Quinonez visited, the RediClinic inside the H-E-B grocery store at 2955 Gulf Freeway S. in League City, was the first in the area to offer a quick-stop primary care visit for a fraction of what most doctor’s offices charge.

But industry experts say it won’t be the last.

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