Medicine Shoppe, Mindgent add retail clinics

Drug Store News, June 26, 2006 by Amanda Chater

It's not enough to simply operate a pharmacy these days; more retailers are opening in-store clinics, and those that don't are likely to get left behind as their customers look for stores that do.

Indeed, the beat goes on as the burgeoning retail clinic sector continues to get bigger. Drug Store News has identified at least two more clinic providers that have signed on with pharmacy retailers to open acute-care clinics in their stores, bringing the list to nearly 15 different companies that operate some variation on the in-store clinic. Most often the clinics are staffed by either nurse practitioners or physician assistants who are licensed to write prescriptions.

Medicine Shoppe will open its first in-store clinics this summer, operated by Mindgent Healthcare Services. The first five are planned to open in Indiana in August, with more to follow in other markets across the country--particularly, in areas that are underserved by physicians or where the nearest hospital has been closed, Julie Beckner, president and chief executive officer of Mindgent, tom Drug Store News.

After the initial rollout at Medicine Shoppe, she expected the clinics could be launched quickly, as many as 10 or 20 at a time. Within a year, she said as many as 100 clinics could be up and running in Medicine Shoppe pharmacies.

"We'll be responsible for all aspects of the clinics, from the activation, building, technology, infrastructure, staffing and managing," said Beckner. Mindgent has experience in this arena, having installed clinics in hospitals in the past.

The advantage to Medicine Shoppe, she explained, will be an increase in consumer traffic and over-the-counter sales. OTC sales have been shown in studies to rise as high as 30 percent with the addition of a retail clinic, she said.

The clinics will require less than 100 square feet of space--a good thing given the tiny footprint of the average Medicine Shoppe, which tops out at an average of about 1,200 sq. ft., in total--and cost very little to install. Mindgent clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners that focus as much as possible on patients, Beckner explained. To allow them to focus on patient care, all supplies are ordered electronically, with most of the clinics' stock on automatic replenishment. Physicians will be on-call in every state in case the nurses have any questions.

Meanwhile, down in Texas, Minyard Food Stores, plans to open clinics in five of its stores this year, with a goal to expand to 25 over the next three years. The first clinic is slated for its Carnival store in Dallas; only the retailer's Carnival, Minyards and Sack N Save stores will receive the clinics.

Minyard's clinics will be the first to open in the Dallas market. Minyard's partner is MedXpress, a newly formed local company. The clinics will be at the front of the supermarkets and will be measure between 350 and 650 square feet. Staffed by either a nurse practitioner or physician's assistant, the MedXpress clinics will charge a fixed price--typically around $45--for routine medical services such as physical exams, immunizations, flu shots and common illnesses.

"We really want to try and make it a wellness center, as opposed to a place to get prescriptions because you are sick," said Ron Peters, Minyards' vice president of pharmacy.

"The important thing is to build loyalty with our customers. If they feel that they can satisfy some of their health needs and, most importantly, their product needs in our store, they're going to come and fill bigger baskets," added spokesman Poul Heilmann.