NBC News - Wal-Mart has played it safe when it comes to retail clinics, partnering with regional hospitals to offer services like flu shots. But now, the retailer is taking a more aggressive tack, with in-store branded clinics offering primary care at a price competitors may find hard to match. <\/p>\n
\"It was important to Wal-Mart that we be able to maintain or be a price leader in this space,\" said Jennifer LaPerre, Wal-Mart U.S. senior director for health and wellness, who is overseeing the rollout of the company's new Walmart Care Clinics. <\/p>\n
LaPerre was in Carrollton, Georgia, in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains, to open the ninth Walmart Care Clinic. Three more are planned this year as part of a pilot program to offer primary care services such as health screenings and disease management of conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure in stores. <\/p>\n
The price? Just $4 for employees and dependents on the company's health plan. For customers, the price is $40about the same as an online consultation with a doctor. <\/p>\n
\"We wanted to be able to monitor and manage and control price. We wanted to be able to focus on a scope of services that were meaningful to our customers and associates,\" LaPerre said. <\/p>\n
Wal-Mart is able to price it that low, in part, because the clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners from Quadmed, a provider of on-site workplace clinics. <\/p>\n
\"These particular set of services that are going to be provided are really ideal for a nurse practitioner to manage,\" said Dr. David Severance, corporate medical director for Quadmed, though each clinic is overseen by a supervising physician. <\/p>\n
Severance said he expects the low price could make a big difference for patients with conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure, who need to get check-ups every three to six months. <\/p>\n
\"If a patient has a fairly sizable co-pay, just to see the provider for each one of those visits, there's a much greater likelihood that they won't follow through with what the prescribed treatment is,\" he said. <\/p>\n
Offering its employees a visit with a nurse practioner for the price of a latte at Starbucks could also help Wal-Mart control its own health-care expenses. Recently, the retailer revealed its health costs were expected to increase by $500 million this year because more of its workers than expected are signing up for its health-insurance benefits. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Follow this link:<\/p>\n
Big Box Health Care: Are You Ready for Walmart Care Clinics?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NBC News - Wal-Mart has played it safe when it comes to retail clinics, partnering with regional hospitals to offer services like flu shots. Continue reading