Just as fast food outlets provided a quicker, cheaper alternative to traditional restaurants, so retail medical clinics are beginning to spread as an alternative to traditional health care providers. Staffed by a nurse practitioner with at least a masters degree, who’s guided through the diagnosis process by a computerized system, the clinics typically diagnose everyday illnesses like colds, flu and pinkeye. They cost little to set up, are often located in high-traffic settings like pharmacies (CVS owns one of the providers, MinuteClinic) and grocery stores, and offer the benefits of speed, convenience and lower cost. The existing total of 350 or so clinics is expected to triple by year end, with some traditional health systems getting onboard with clinics of their own. These companies took a successful model (fast food) and applied it to a wholly different industry (health care). Is there a way to adopt the same strategy in your business or industry?
