Jade Hunter had some reservations about getting health-care services at a Wal-Mart. But the mother of two lacks insurance and had been sick for weeks.
She was looking for a quick – and cheap – fix.
Hunter found that fix in SmartCare Family Medical Centers, a Greenwood Village-based company that operates clinics inside Colorado Wal-Mart stores. A nurse practitioner at the walk-in clinic diagnosed Hunter’s strep throat and prescribed medication in a private exam room just steps away from the retail giant’s busy checkout lines.
“Wal-Mart can be kind of loud and noisy, but inside it was clean and calm,” said Hunter, who was treated at a SmartCare in the Greeley Wal-Mart.
Hunter’s visit cost her $65. She paid $25 for a follow-up exam.
Hunter is part of a growing number of Colorado residents who are helping to spur the popularity of in-store health-care clinics. SmartCare has emerged as a significant player in the expanding sector.
Since announcing its partnership with Wal-Mart in September, the company has opened 15 clinics in the metro area and northern Colorado. It is planning locations in Castle Rock and Colorado Springs Wal-Marts and has announced a similar expansion deal with the Atlanta division of supermarket operator Kroger Co.
SmartCare clinics 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 allergies. They also provide health screenings and physicals. The company works with both insured and uninsured patients.
Health-care experts say the rapid growth of SmartCare and similar companies is the result of a convergence in health-care trends.
“There’s a growing shortage of primary-care physicians and physician’s assistants,” said Dean Coddington, a senior consultant with Denver health-care research firm McManis Consulting. “There’s a growing demand for those kind of people and an overall trend toward health-care costs going up at a pretty rapid rate.”
Experts say time-pressed consumers also have little patience for doctor’s offices that can’t see them for weeks, making the walk-in nature of clinics inside grocery stores and pharmacies particularly appealing.
A survey released last month by WSL Strategic Retail in New York showed that 15 percent of U.S. adults have used in-store clinics, but 41 percent would do so if they had one nearby. The firm estimates fewer than 1,000 such clinics exist.
But their numbers are on the rise as numerous competitors, including MedPoint Express, MinuteClinic and RediClinic, get into the game. Investors are eagerly backing the companies, and SmartCare chief executive Lawrence Hay said the company has secured funding to support its growth through 2008.
Hay said Colorado customers are eagerly embracing the SmartCare concept. He declined to say how many patients have visited its Colorado clinics.
Other health-care providers in the state are welcoming SmartCare as an alternative to expensive emergency-room visits.
“There’s a lot of abuse and misuse of the emergency room by uninsured and underinsured patients,” said Ali Ayers, director of community relations for Doctors Care, which provides low-cost medical care to uninsured patients in the south metro area.
Doctors Care has forged a relationship with SmartCare and recommends that its patients use the clinics for nonemergency issues. SmartCare offers discounts to Doctors Care patients.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-954-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
15%
People who have used in-store medical clinics, according to a survey by WSL Strategic Retail
41%
People who say they would use an in-store clinic if one were nearby
FEWER THAN 1,000
In-store clinics nationwide
15
Clinics operated by Greenwood Village-based SmartCare in the metro area and northern Colorado
