MinuteClinic opens first location in Massachusetts

MEDWAY, Mass. MinuteClinic, which is owned by CVS Caremark, has officially announced the opening of its first retail-based clinic in Massachusetts. Four additional clinics are expected to open in “the near future” in Bridgewater, Danvers, Taunton and Tewksbury.

MinuteClinic expects to open up to 28 locations in the state in 2008 and to have about 100 clinics in communities across Massachusetts where CVS stores are located.

“Through our conveniently located store-based clinics, we will be expanding access to high-quality, affordable care for common family illnesses in Massachusetts,” stated Chip Phillips, MinuteClinic president. “We are committed to making our innovative model of care part of Massachusetts’ precedent-setting efforts to broad access to quality health services.”

The opening of the state’s first retail-based clinic is important given the closely watched debate that initially took place as state health officials waded through how best to approach the concept. But in January, the convenient care industry celebrated a victory as state health officials approved regulations allowing for limited service medical clinics, marking the end of a long review process that included two public hearings and the submission of hundreds of pages of testimony regarding the regulations.

Walgreens’ Take Care Health Systems in June confirmed plans to launch multiple clinics in the Boston-metro area through a phased approach beginning this fall. However, details on the rollout plans still had yet to be disclosed.