It seems like retail clinics aren’t the gold mine companies thought they would be:
In the past year, Merchant Medicine estimates that 136 clinics have closed up shop, a trend it blames in part on financiers who lost patience when the clinics weren’t showing quick profits.
These clinics face the same payment pressures afflicting primary care doctors. If office-based physicians have trouble making ends meet, there’s very little chance that the retail clinic model will profit.
This is especially true if retail clinics accept insurance, which dooms them to poor-paying cognitive reimbursement rates.
Also, a single malpractice suit against one of these clinics has the potential to wipe them off the map completely.
In order to survive, they need to be i) cash-only, ii) start doing minor procedures, iii) consider expanding into cosmetic dermatology (like Botox).
Just like a real primary care practice.
