Growing interest in providing simple healthcare in inexpensive settings has spawned rising interest in convenient care clinics. Now there’s a trade group to represent the concept.
The Convenient Care Association was created to give a voice to members and serve as a starting point for several initiatives.
The group formed after initial meetings this summer showed the need, said Tine Hansen-Turton, CCA executive director.
It represents small healthcare facilities, frequently located in high-traffic retail outlets with accessible pharmacy services. Typically staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants, the clinics provide routine non-emergency services to walk-in patients. The clinics frequently are open longer than physician offices.
The CCA expects to work on quality of care guidelines and protocols, Hansen-Turton said. It’s pulling together a clinical advisory board, drawing on the expertise of clinicians.
It’s also working to implement medical record sharing to encourage the electronic transfer of medical information to physicians and other healthcare providers. Several convenient care operators are using electronic medical records and want to be able to share information with other providers.
Clinics are appearing in retail pharmacies in selected markets as venues for consumers to receive routine, immediate care for simple medical conditions. Take Care Health Systems and RediClinic are starting the clinics, as are hospital systems. For example, founding members of the CCA come from AtlantiCare Health Services, Aurora Health Care, Geisinger Health System and MEDPOINTexpress, a subsidiary of Memorial Hospital and Health System.
While groups such as the American Medical Association have expressed concerns about the level of care at convenience clinics, the CCA says that the clinics offer a cost-effective way to treat patients and direct them to the most appropriate care setting.
“The biggest misnomer is that we’re taking patients away from primary care,” Hansen-Turton said. “Our clinics have longer hours, so they’re getting patients who otherwise would go to emergency departments. About 20 percent to 30 percent of the patients we see don’t have primary care providers.”