The advance of the retail health clinic market: The liability risk physicians may potentially face when supervising or collaborating with other professionals

摘要

The first retail health clinic opened in Minnesota in 2001 after the frustration a father, and future MinuteClinic cofounder, experienced during a long wait at an urgent care center for treatment of his son's strep throat. CVS Caremark Corporation, the largest retail pharmacy in the United States, acquired MinuteClinic in 2006, further strengthening the foothold of retail health care clinics throughout the country. During the first 5 years, the industry added only 29 clinics before rapidly increasing by more than 10-fold between 2006 and 2008. By 2008, the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, had also entered the retail clinic market, adding to the almost 1000 clinics at that time. This accelerated trend reversed in 2009, reflected by the industry closing approximately 5% of outlets that year. As early as 2007, significant future growth in the market was expected, with predictions of up to 6000 clinics by the end of 2012. Despite this early optimism, as of June 2011, only a total of 1227 retail clinics are now in operation, slightly up from 1197 reported in February 2010.