Health Populi

Monday, November 12, 2007

The Mayo Clinic Clinic -- Mayo Goes Retail


The Mayo Clinic, one of the most prestigious names in health care, is planning to open several retail clinics in early 2008.

Does this signal the beginning of an upper tier of retail clinic -- where Nordstrom- or Neimans-meets-medicine?

At this early stage, Mayo's plans are to locate the branded "Mayo Express Care" centers around their immediate target market of Rochester, Minnesota, which includes part of Wisconsin.

By implementing this plan, Mayo, known for its stellar inpatient services, expands its reach into community-based primary care role.


A competitive advantage with the Mayo plan is that patients who have previously been admitted to the Mayo Clinic will have their health records immediately available (electronically) at the Mayo Express Care sites. This promotes continuity-of-care and quality.

Fees are expected to range from $49 to $59, and all forms of insurance, including Medicaid and Medicare, will be accepted.

Health Populi's Hot Points: The emerging retail clinic business has, thus far, played itself out as a national or regional phenomenon driven by drug and general retail chains. In Mayo, we see a new type of sponsor -- a nationally-recognized health care brand that is stepping its toe first into its local health care geography. While nationally and internationally recognized, Mayo still seeks to consolidate its hometown base where other local hospitals have planted the flag in the retail clinic segment. The fact is that urgent care centers have been owned and operated by hospitals for over two decades. The Mayo retail clinic model, if successful on its home turf, could go into other regions of the U.S. that Mayo serves including Arizona and Florida. Mayo could go beyond these markets. A $59 urgent care visit at a brilliantly-branded clinic could fit the bill of many high-value health shoppers.

posted by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn at 5:38 AM

5 Comments:

  • Big question will be whether their version of retail clinics will be staffed by docs vs NP/PA's. In terms of debate, that is where the rubber meets the road on the national scene.

    By Blogger Bradley, At November 12, 2007 10:18 AM  

  • Mayo plans to staff their convenience clinics with NP/PA's. The following is an excerpt from their job posting:

    "Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN has an exciting opportunity for a Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant who thrives in an independent work environment to staff the new convenience clinic sites within Rochester. This service is staffed by a single NP or PA who will work independently within the Department of Family Medicine to provide acute care for a limited group of mild illnesses/conditions. The convenience clinic model of care is a service that provides a limited menu of low intensity primary care services, outside of our standard medical facility, on a walk in basis. Symptoms or complaints outside the menu of services are referred to the patient's usual primary care team on the Mayo campus."

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At December 14, 2007 10:34 AM  

  • I work at Mayo Clinic, and we did a video about the new Mayo Express Care service and posted it on YouTube. If you want to see what it's like, check it out here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I17SXRnG934

    By Anonymous Lee Aase, At January 29, 2008 8:09 AM  

  • Retail clinics are gaining a lot of ground in the healthcare arena, as they are the quick and easy solution to doctor visits for the busy person. According to a University of Michigan study, there are currently over 20 companies operating about 300 retail clinics in the United States, and over 2,000 clinics are expected to open by the end of this year.

    In a recent podcast, HIN spoke with Dr. Thomas Atkins of Sutter Express Care about retail clinics. Dr. Atkins remarks that there are many lessons for both providers and health plans to take away from Wal-Mart's partnership with CheckUps.
    http://blog.hin.com/?p=252

    By Anonymous LGreene@HIN.com, At February 7, 2008 12:59 PM  

  • There are currently 900+ C-Clinics operating across the US; at least those are the known outlets. Based on the announcements, either formally or informally, from the top 5 to 8 players in this market space, there is a possibility of approximately 2,0000 new outlets by the end of 2010, so that equates out to approximately 3,000 outlets by the end of 2010.

    Take note, the majority of the top organizations in this market space do not have their genesis in health care. They are new entrants and are approaching this as a serves for the public. In addition to serving the public, they do plan on benefiting their stakeholders and shareholders.

    While the rate of growth will slow, which is a natural business phenomenon; there could be as many as 6,000 outlets by the mid part of the next decade.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At February 28, 2008 5:28 PM  

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