CNBC Spotlights Retail Health Clinics

Wal-Mart's recent announcement about plans to open more than 50 retail health clinics in Wal-Mart stores nationwide prompted CNBC TV's early morning news program Squawk Box to explore the quality and scope of health care delivered at these in-store clinics.

A segment on retail clinics, featuring AAFP President Larry Fields, M.D., of Ashland, Ky., and MinuteClinic CEO Michael Howe, aired Feb. 27.

Fields and Howe agreed that retail health clinics have a place in the delivery of health care to busy Americans, but the patient's medical home belongs in the family physician's office.

The Academy's primary concern with retail health clinics, said Fields, is the scope of services they provide. "We certainly believe that these clinics should have a limited scope of service and that it should be well defined," said Fields. Evidence-based treatment protocols with a quality component also are important, he added.

"Communication is key," said Fields. "It's incumbent upon these clinics to notify the individual's family physician" after the visit to relay information about the care that was given.

Howe applauded the Academy's leadership in setting parameters for retail clinics (Members Only; PDF file: 19 pages / 76 KB. More about PDFs.) and said MinuteClinic protocols follow AAFP's guidance in this area. An important tenet of that guidance is recognition of the scope of services and "a willingness to refer patients to their primary care provider when the condition is outside the scope of services," said Howe.

"The concept of a medical home is a critical part of health care in America," said Howe, adding that retail health clinics were not designed as a medical home but rather as a place for the treatment of minor ailments, such as sinuitis, bronchitis and pharyngitis.

Fields said retail clinics can't provide ongoing care for chronic conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure. But, he said, the AAFP is "certainly willing to work with any group who has patient-centered care as part of their agenda for convenience, as long as we continue to maintain the model of the medical home in the family physician's office."