Retail Health Clinic Growth as a Potential Primary Care Disruptor

Retail health clinics (RHCs) have been described as a disruptive model of care delivery. We describe RHC market presence in the United States from 2008 to 2016 with a focus on the characteristics of counties where new clinics open. We merge national data on RHC openings and closings from Merchant Medicine with the Area Health Resources File. We examined county-level counts and ownership of RHCs over time. From 2008 to 2016, we found increasing ownership of RHCs by retail pharmacies, and, contrary to earlier predictions, RHCs continue to be located in affluent counties and did not open in underserved or provider shortage areas. Most new clinics opened in counties where RHCs already had a presence, and these counties also had greater primary care physician, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant density per capita (100,000). As RHCs expand and offer more services, they may place new competitive pressures on nearby primary care providers and practices.