A recent customer survey found that most retail clinic visitors arrive at clinics with a good idea of what ails them, according to Kalorama Information. The healthcare market research publisher surveyed retail clinic customers if they knew generally what ailed them when they entered the clinic, if the clinic did some diagnosis or if the clinic did all the diagnosis. More than half said that they entered the clinic knowing what they needed and what their ailment was. The result was published in Kalorama Information’s latest report: Retail Clinics 2017: The Game-Changer in Healthcare.
Kalorama Information conducted a survey of 2,095 adults matching average U.S. demographics. For those respondents that had visited a retail clinics, they were asked if they knew of their ailment before visiting.
- 52% said they went in knowing what they needed and what the ailment was.
- 31% said they had a general idea of what their ailment might be but medical attendant had to do some diagnosis.
- 16% did not know what the ailment was.
“It’s not entirely surprising given the current narrow practice focus of the clinics,” said Bruce Carlson, Publisher of Kalorama Information. “Colds and earaches are clinically obvious, and a person that wants a flu shot knows that’s why they are entering the clinics.”
Kalorama suggests that the survey may actually indicate an opportunity for medical device companies, particularly makers of diagnostic equipment.
“While currently small there is some group that will be in need of diagnosis, and that’s an opportunity for point-of-care diagnostic providers,” Carlson suggested.
The healthcare market research publisher said there are 2,200 retail clinics in the United States. And they noted that hospitals, doctor’s offices, government and private insurance payors, vaccine companies, IVD companies and healthcare IT companies could all be affected by them. The retail clinic concept is brought up in nearly every discussions of healthcare, in cost-cutting for governments or methods for better preventive care.
Kalorama’s complete report on the retail clinic market looks at the retail clinic market for service sales, but also IVD supplier and vaccine supplier markets markets to retail clinics. Click for the report.