Some are wondering whether these “fast-food” clinics cater to the rich and suburban:

More than a dozen AMA delegates testified before a committee Sunday, raising numerous concerns, including whether retailers were cherry-picking patients in suburban areas.

“I don’t think you will find any of these clinics in the inner city,” Dr. Arthur Snow, an AMA delegate and family physician from Shawnee Mission, Kan., not far from Walgreens’ targeted expansion in the Kansas City area. “I’m concerned about the care.”

Retail-clinic developers and the nurse practitioners on staff defend the model as an important and convenient way for consumers to access the health-care system, particularly for the 45 million uninsured Americans who cannot afford traditional doctors.