May 13--In a transition to new ownership, 56 of Walgreens' in-store health clinics in the Chicago area will close Sunday for three days.
Downers Grove-based Advocate Health Care, the largest hospital chain in Illinois, acquired the clinics in its first foray into the growing trend of retail health care. Advocate will hold grand opening events Wednesday at select Walgreens locations.
See the list of clinics closing Sunday
Retail clinics are seen as a convenient and cost-saving alternative to physician offices and hospital emergency rooms for minor illnesses. Customers can walk in without an appointment, and care is usually provided by nurse practitioners rather than by doctors.
Grocery stores and retailers such as Walmart have long had pharmacies, so the move to provide some limited health care was a no-brainer. There are now nearly 2,000 retail clinics across the country, and they receive more than 6 million patient visits a year, according to a recent study by the RAND Corp.
Clinics are a small part of Walgreens, and the drugstore chain has begun selling them to streamline operations. The Deerfield-based company has about 8,100 stores across the country but only about 400 of them have walk-in clinics.
Several hospitals and large health systems have recognized the retail trend and opened their own walk-in clinics, known as "urgent" or "immediate" care centers, as a way to compete and provide more convenience to their patients.
The walk-in clinics also offer patients more transparency about prices. Hospitals and physician offices rarely post the prices they charge for a visit. Consumers with insurance typically pay a copay for an ER visit or doctor's appointment.
Advocate's clinics inside Walgreens will charge a flat fee for services of $89 for patients who pay out of pocket, said spokeswoman Lisa Lesniak. The clinics will accept the same insurance plans Advocate accepts, she said.
Advocate plans to expand care inside Walgreens to children as young as 6 months old by January. The clinics will be integrated with the health system's electronic medical records and billing systems.
asachdev@tribpub.com
