Report: Retail clinics forcing hospitals to adapt

TACOMA, Wash. — The past week has been filled with news about different chains expanding their retail clinic offerings, from Walgreens’ planned expansion into Washington and Oregon through a local partnership to Bartell Drugs’ opening of two more of their CareClinic locations.

This growth in retail clinics is changing the way patients approach health care, but the Puget Sound Business Journal is reporting that retail clinics are also forcing hospitals to rethink they way they approach patients with their offerings. In light of Walgreens’ expansion, the Journal spoke to Bellevue, Wash.’s Overlake Hospital Medial Center CEO Michael Marsh about how hospitals are changing as a result of retail clinics.

“Now, it's about, how do we engage with people at any time?" Marsh told the Journal.

To read more about how Marsh sees hospitals’ apprpoach changing, click here.