New Wal-Mart Clinics

(Bentonville, AR) Wal-Mart intends to contract with local hospitals and other organizations to open as many as 400 in-store health clinics over the next two to three years. If current market forces continue, up to 2,000 clinics could be in Wal-Mart stores over the next five to seven years, according to Wal-Mart president Lee Scott. The clinic programs expansion is the latest in moves by Wal-Mart to venture into Americas health care, including the $4 generic drug prescription program. Scott says Wal-Mart customers have saved about $290 million on selected generic prescription drugs since September 2006. The health clinics, which will lease space in Wal-Mart stores, will be managed by local or regional hospitals and/or other organizations that are independent of Wal-Mart. The move is a significant expansion of a pilot project begun in September 2005, when Wal-Mart started leasing space to medical clinics inside Wal-Mart stores. Currently, 76 clinics are operating inside Wal-Marts in 12 states. Surveys in existing clinics revealed more than half of those who visited a clinic said they were uninsured. Nearly 15 percent of customers said they would have gone to a hospital emergency room for their care if they could not have gone to the clinic inside a Wal-Mart. The providers running the clinics will determine what services to offer, which will generally include preventive and routine care for conditions such as allergies and sinus infections, as well as basic services such as cholesterol screenings and school physicals at affordable prices. They will be staffed by either certified nurse practitioners or physicians. The clinics will post prices for services and procedures in a nod to add "transparency" to the health care system. (Copyright 2007 Newsroom Solutions, LLC)