Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
A new study published in early March casts fresh doubt on whether retail clinics, which can steer some patients away from emergency departments, actually reduce health spending (Source: “Retail Health Clinics Result in Higher Spending, Survey Finds,” The New York Times, March 8, 2016).
In the study, published in the journal Health Affairs, researchers conclude that the clinics led to slightly higher spending because people used them for minor medical conditions they would typically have treated on their own.
The higher use, researchers said, outweighed the savings that resulted when people went to a cheaper retail clinic instead of to the doctor or emergency room.
I would be interested in the comparison of the cost of tests ordered in retail clinics vs the cost of tests ordered, for the same illness, in a physician’s office. I think more expensive and advanced tests are ordered immediately in retail clinics from CNPs.