2024 was a newsworthy year for retail health to say the least with major retailers scaling back or closing their health clinics. Once seen as a promising avenue for primary care delivery, thin margins, low reimbursement rates, staffing issues, and the complexities of the healthcare system proved to be a high hurdle to overcome. Will the ideal of “disruption” in healthcare ever come to fruition or is this industry just too hard to crack? Despite some success stories and continued experimentation with different care models, many retailers are finding that while their original plans may not be feasible, they still have the willingness to try again. With about 60% of people ages 50 to 80 having visited an urgent care center or a retail health clinic during the past two years, there is a ton of promise for this care channel. And many of these retail locations are in rural areas with high rates of chronic disease and fewer PCPs than the average US community, so their success should be cheered for by all.
