Symposium to Look at Successes, Failures of Retail Clinic Business Model

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“Many retailers, including Wal-Mart, are making a strong case for hospitals to put clinics in their stores,” says Tom Charland, CEO of Merchant Medicine. “But as many have found out, converting retail foot traffic into patient traffic is not easy.”

Shoreview, Minn. (PRWEB) November 18, 2009

As retailers aggressively recruit healthcare organizations to open medical clinics inside their stores, a Twin Cities symposium in January will help these organizations explore both the financial challenges and advantages in operating these clinics. The ConvUrgentCareTM Strategy Symposium will be held at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Marriott Hotel in Bloomington, Minn., January 26 and 27, 2010.

The symposium will present six speakers that cross most areas of walk-in acute care medicine from adjusting an urgent care strategy, to forming joint ventures, to successfully operating retail clinics inside major retailers.

The term “ConvUrgentCareTM” represents the crossover between convenient care, urgent care and other acute care situations that will be heavily impacted by impending health reforms. This is the second such symposium around retail clinic strategies, with attendees coming from around the country to share and gain insights.

“Many retailers, including Wal-Mart, are making a strong case for hospitals to put clinics in their stores,” says Tom Charland, CEO of Merchant Medicine, a research and consulting firm. “On the surface this makes sense. But as many have found out, converting retail foot traffic into patient traffic is not easy. The results have often been financial disasters.”

Merchant Medicine reports that there are currently 1,158 medical clinics in retail stores, but more than 300 such clinics have closed since the retail clinic phenomenon began in 2000.

Speakers are listed below. More information can be found in the ConvUrgentCareTM Strategy Symposium Brochure, which is available by clicking here.

Karen Bowling, CEO, Solantic, Jacksonville, FL (Keynote)
Karen Bowling co-founded Solantic in 2001 and has helped grow the company to become the largest operator of urgent care centers in Florida. Solantic also operates clinics inside Wal-Mart stores and has active joint ventures with area health systems. Their growth has come largely by bringing a customer-centric mindset to the delivery of healthcare. And given their backing by one of the largest private equity firms in the country, this could be just the beginning. There is no better example of a successful strategy that crosses urgent care and convenient care and involves local health systems, all under outstanding consumer marketing and branding.

David P. Taylor, VP Regional Services, Cox Health, Springfield, MO
Cox Health, based in Springfield, MO, has just opened its fifth clinic inside a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Hospital systems directly operating convenient care clinics inside local retail stores can create greater access and promote a strong brand in the community. This case study will focus on how best to succeed inside a large superstore like Wal-Mart.

Darin Jordan, MD, Medical & Ops Director, Central DuPage Hospital, Chicago, IL
Surrounding a hospital emergency room with a chain of standalone urgent care centers is an excellent way to fend off competition. This case study by a large hospital system in Greater Chicago will show how hospital urgent care centers that are strategically located, effectively marketed and fairly priced can be a very strong force against nearly a dozen surrounding retail clinics in Walgreens and CVS pharmacies.

Kellie Ecker, Avera St. Luke’s, Aberdeen, SD
Operating retail clinics can be a major undertaking for hospital systems that are already working to capacity. But there are options that significantly reduce the workload, including licensing arrangements and/or partnerships with an established entity that already has an operating model, brand and retail partnership. This case study shows how a smaller hospital system partnered with Bellin Health to open a retail clinic inside a local Shopko store, with excellent operating results.

Steven Blumberg, VP Planning and Business Development, Shands Health Care, Gainesville, FL
Urgent care joint ventures between hospital systems and private urgent care operators sound risky on the surface. But Shands Health System in Gainesville, FL, has good things to say about their joint venture with Solantic. This case will look at the structure of this joint venture as well as operating results.

Chris Endres, Memorial Health System, South Bend, IN
Hospitals that operate retail clinics must be willing to adjust as they learn and as market conditions change. MedPoint Express is a chain of retail clinics in South Bend and Indianapolis. Some are in Wal-Mart stores and some are in an upscale grocery chain called Martin’s. This case study will explore the operating results and suggest ways to increase your chances of success should you choose to operate clinics in retail stores directly.

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