Colorado shoppers will soon be able to get throat cultures and flu shots at the same place they buy their milk and toothpaste.
Greenwood Village-based SmartCare Family Medical Centers will announce a major expansion today with retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The agreement calls for the company to open in-store clinics in a majority of Wal-Mart Supercenters along the Front Range.
The agreement furthers an earlier deal for SmartCare to open centers in a limited number of Wal-Marts in Colorado, Arizona and Nevada. The company will lease space in the front portion of the stores and operate the centers independently from Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart already has similar arrangements with banks, hair salons and other businesses that operate near the store entrances across from the cash registers. It also has clinics operated by four other companies in other states.
The first two Colorado SmartCare clinics will open in Loveland and Greeley next week.
Two-year-old SmartCare is among several players leading the relatively new but fast-growing trend of placing minor acute care clinics inside supermarkets, pharmacies and discount stores. The centers are the latest generation of walk-in “doc in the box” clinics that sprung up in strip malls several decades ago.
The recent interest in in-store clinics has been fueled by rising health care costs as well as customers’ desire for more accessible, faster treatment.
“In today’s environment, when patients feel the need to see their doctor for a minor problem, they frequently find they aren’t able to see their primary care physician as readily as they might have in the past,” said Jim Hertel, publisher of the Colorado Managed Care newsletter.
As a result, SmartCare and competitors including MedPoint Express, MinuteClinic and RediClinic have emerged as a faster and often less expensive alternative to emergency room or urgent care visits.
MinuteClinic was acquired by CVS Corp. in July, and RediClinic is financially backed by AOL founder Steve Case’s Revolution Health Group.
Target, Wal-Mart, Kroger and Walgreens are among the retailers welcoming the walk-in clinics into their stores. But they’re not the only ones blurring the lines between health care and retail. Home improvement retailer Home Depot recently started selling health insurance to contractors through its Home Depot Business Toolbox.
SmartCare centers are staffed by nurse practitioners and certified medical assistants who have a physician on call. They primarily test for and treat common ailments such as ear infections, sore throats, bladder infections and seasonal allergies. They also provide cholesterol, bone density and other health screenings along with school or employment physicals.
“Consumers are interested in a convenient option for everyday health care needs, and our centers are located near where consumers live, work and shop,” SmartCare chief executive Lawrence Hay said.
SmartCare operates clinics inside Kerr Drug stores in North Carolina and South Carolina. The company has also announced deals to open in Kroger stores in Atlanta and Fred Meyer stores in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The privately funded company intends to open 1,050 centers in the next five years.
“We believe having medical clinics in our stores is another way to increase health and wellness offerings to our customers,” said Alicia Ledlie, director of health business development for Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart.
She acknowledged that the company would also benefit from additional foot traffic and pharmacy purchases from SmartCare customers.
Harvey Hartman, chief executive of Seattle consulting firm The Hartman Group, said in-store clinics offer retailers another way to forge connections with their customers. He said the clinics likely will be successful if they can offer consistent care and continuity in staffing.
A major test will be whether the sector can convince insurance companies to reimburse patients for their visits, said Hertel, the newsletter publisher.
SmartCare said it is negotiating with Colorado insurers but hasn’t announced any deals.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-954-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
