The cost and insurance coverage seems to be making it more attractive as well. Many large companies are also putting clinics on premise as well. I agree though for a quick visit the clinics can fill the bill, but it doesn't replace the primary MD in caring for your ongoing health. BD
Increasingly, American consumers are shopping for health care the way they buy a hamburger or milk shake at a fast-food chain: By standing in line at a local store under a menu.
Store-based health clinics - which are staffed mostly by nurse practitioners and offer quick services for routine conditions from colds and bladder infections to sunburn - aren't just a health care fad anymore, but fast becoming a serious industry.
About 7 percent of Americans have tried a clinic at least once, according to an estimate by the Convenient Care Association, an industry trade group formed last year. That number is expected to increase dramatically, as major pharmacy operators like Wal-Mart Stores Inc.and Walgreen Co. , partner with miniclinic providers like RediClinic and MinuteClinic to expand operations. The trade group estimated there will be more than 700 by year-end, up from the more than 400 now, and 2,000 by the end of 2008.
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