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San Jose Mercury News (California)
November 19, 2005 Saturday
SECTION: BU; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 1036 words
HEADLINE: ADD MEDICAL EXAM TO SHOPPING LIST;
FIRM PLANS MINI-CLINICS IN 32 CALIFORNIA LONGS
BYLINE: Michele Chandler, Mercury News
BODY:
A Bay Area company is the latest business aiming to bring shoppers medical care at the same
place they already buy toothpaste and greeting cards.
WellnessExpress Medical Clinic, founded last year in San Ramon by physicians and other
investors, is opening a chain of walk-in centers located inside Longs Drug Stores.
In the Bay Area, WellnessExpress clinics opened earlier this month at Longs in Campbell and
Sunnyvale, while a third health center is slated to open inside a San Jose Longs early next week
on Tully Road.
In all, 32 WellnessExpress-run mini-clinics are planned for Longs Drug Stores across California
by the end of 2006, said Paul Kaufmann, president and founder of WellnessExpress Healthcare,
the management firm that runs the company's business side.
All the mini-clinics will be staffed by nurse practitioners or physician's assistants. Both kinds of
professionals can diagnose and treat certain medical conditions and prescribe medications; the
ones employed by WellnessExpress also work under the supervision of a physician available for
consultation by telephone.
But the cost of having a minor medical problem like a bladder infection treated at a mini-clinic -about $54 -- is slightly less than the typical $66 fee at a physician's office. And care in one of
WellnessExpress' small clinics is about half of what it might cost for a doctor's portion of the care
provided in an emergency room.
Growing trend
Founded in 2004 by Kaufmann, physician Wesley Chan and a group of investors that includes
four other physicians, Kaufmann says WellnessExpress is the first California-based group to open
health clinics inside retail stores and latch onto what's turning into a growing -- and closely
watched -- nationwide trend.
Already, medical clinics operate inside Wal-Mart, with that retail giant saying 12 mini-clinics
operated by four outside medical providers will be open by early next year. Wal-Mart opened the
first of 12 mini-clinics this fall in partnerships with four medical clinic operators in Texas, Florida
and Indiana.
In-store mini-clinics run by medical firms are also planned for a small number of Target stores,
CVS and Rite Aid drug stores.
The companies are coming of age as the cost of health care coverage continues to rise
dramatically, while managed care has pared payments to doctors and fewer medical school
graduates are choosing to become general care doctors, health industry experts say.
``All this means that it's much harder to get in to see your primary care physician than it used to
be,'' said Hoangmai Pham, senior health researcher with the Center for Studying Health System
Change research group. ``Sometimes people want a quick answer to what seems to be a small
problem, and these entrepreneurs seem to have figured this out.''
No appointments
Unlike many doctor's offices, the WellnessExpress mini-clinics are open seven days a week,
the same as their retail hosts. And there is no need for an appointment. The clinics are set up to
handle on a walk-in basis a variety of ailments, minor injuries and routine tests, everything from
treatment for strep throat, cholesterol tests and short-term prescription refills for travelers. People
who arrive with medical problems beyond what the mini-clinics can handle are referred to their
doctor or a hospital emergency room, with the clinic calling ahead to alert the hospital about the
incoming patient.
Backers of the national mini-clinic movement say their potential clientele are people who can't
get an appointment with their regular doctor quickly enough, those wanting care over the
weekend when their regular physician's office is closed, or uninsured people and others who now
go to expensive hospital emergency rooms to have non-emergency conditions treated. Uninsured
people pay up front for their mini-clinic visits.
The president of WellnessExpress Clinic, physician Wesley Chan, said when he worked in an
urgent care office, ``We had a lot of people there who had minor medical problems and did not
necessarily need to be there. They could be treated for these minor medical problems a lot more
conveniently in a setting not in the doctors' office.''
At the Campbell location of WellnessExpress, the mini-clinic -- a small exam room with three
chairs outside for people to wait -- is next to the busy pharmacy. The clinic drew some curious
onlookers earlier this week. But about 35 people have signed up to receive $25 flu shots, said
Katherine Gipsh, the clinic 's nurse practitioner.
Partial payment
Some health plans, including PPOs owned by Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Humana and United,
cover a portion of the fee charged patients who seek care at Longs' mini-clinics. Others pay $54
for a minor medical treatment, such as to diagnose and treat a bladder infection.
WellnessExpress' founders stress their service is not meant to replace a patient's regular
doctor. The clinics are designed to help a teen needing a sports physical on a Sunday afternoon
or a fussy toddler with an ear infection who needs to be assessed quickly by a medical
practitioner.
Longs stands to benefit, too.
WellnessExpress pays a set fee to Longs to renovate and lease the section of the store used
for the clinic. While clinic employees are prohibited from referring patients to Longs' pharmacies
to have their prescriptions filled, the drug chain anticipates getting some of that business anyway.
Idea's critics
However, some doctors say the emerging mini-clinics are potentially bad news.
With managed care insurance plans already whittling down what doctors are paid for treating
their members, new places where non-physicians treat patients ``is a disruptive innovation to say
the least,'' said Jack Lewin, a family practice physician and chief executive of the California
Medical Association. ``Doctors are already having trouble maintaining the viability of their
practices.''
Added Lewin: ``One of the concerns I have with this kind of care is the discontinuity likely to go
with it. You go see a non-physician and get care. I won't know about it. These clinics won't have
access to your medical records. There are a whole lot of factors about it that are worrisome.''
Contact Michele Chandler at [email protected] or (408) 920-5731.
LOAD-DATE: November 19, 2005