Weinick Robin M, Pollack Craig Evan, Fisher Michael P, Gillen Emily M, Mehrotra Ateev
Rand Health Q. 2011 Sep 1;1(3):9. eCollection 2011 Fall.
Retail clinics, located within larger retail stores, treat a limited number of acute conditions and offer a small set of preventive services. Although there are nearly 1,200 such clinics in the United States, a great deal about their utilization, relationships with other parts of the health care system, and quality of care remains unknown. The federal government has taken only limited action regarding retail clinics, and little evidence exists about the potential costs and benefits of integrating retail clinics into federal programs and initiatives. Through a literature review, semistructured interviews, and a panel of experts, the authors show that retail clinics have established a niche in the health care system based on their convenience and customer service. Levels of patient satisfaction and of the quality and appropriateness of care appear comparable to those of other provider types. However, we know little about the effects of retail clinic use on preventive services, care coordination, and care continuity. As clinics begin to expand into other areas of care, including chronic disease management, and as the number of patients with insurance increases and the shortage of primary care physicians continues, answering outstanding questions about retail clinics' role in the health care system will become even more important. These changes will create new opportunities for health policy to influence both how retail clinics function and the ways in which their care is integrated with that of other providers.
零售诊所设在大型零售店内，治疗数量有限的急性病症，并提供少量预防性服务。虽然美国有近1200家此类诊所，但关于它们的利用率、与医疗保健系统其他部分的关系以及医疗质量，仍有很多未知之处。联邦政府对零售诊所仅采取了有限的行动，而且几乎没有证据表明将零售诊所纳入联邦项目和倡议的潜在成本和收益情况。通过文献综述、半结构化访谈以及专家小组，作者表明零售诊所凭借其便利性和客户服务在医疗保健系统中占据了一席之地。患者满意度以及医疗质量和适宜性水平似乎与其他类型的医疗服务提供者相当。然而，我们对使用零售诊所对预防性服务、医疗协调和医疗连续性的影响知之甚少。随着诊所开始扩展到其他医疗领域，包括慢性病管理，以及随着参保患者数量增加且初级保健医生短缺问题持续存在，解答有关零售诊所在医疗保健系统中作用的悬而未决的问题将变得更加重要。这些变化将为卫生政策创造新的机会，以影响零售诊所的运作方式及其医疗服务与其他医疗服务提供者的整合方式。
