Overcoming Foundational Issues in Healthcare

The Formation of the Retail Clinic Industry

Abstract

The challenges facing the U.S. healthcare system have increasingly come into the public eye. At a high level, clinicians, politicians, patient advocates and payers are striving to improve the system. However, navigation of the diverse goals and priorities for each stakeholder group can cloud a vision of greater access, higher quality and lower costs. The role of the innovator is to generate and execute an idea that maintains a laser focus on its objectives in the face of the complexity and challenges inherent in the system it is designed to improve. The formation and expansion of the retail clinic industry over the past decade can serve as a case study for innovators and as an historic endeavor that has revolutionized the landscape of healthcare delivery in America.