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【medical-news】Medical Marts 关闭零售店诊所
BY BRUCE JAPSEN
March 13, 2008
Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Fark Google Newsvine Reddit Yahoo Print Reprints Post comment Text size: In a blow for the physician-staffed model of retail medicine, a Las Vegas-based company that operated three clinics in suburban Chicago has shuttered its operations in various retail outlets across the country, according to an executive with the company.
Medical Marts ceased operations, closing more than a dozen clinics in the last month that it operated in Illinois, Missouri, Virginia and Utah. The company was founded four years ago and operated in several retailers, including Shopko stores and Meijer supercenter locations.
"The venture capitalists backing the company had a change of heart and decided to go another direction with their funding," said Dr. Kenneth Richmond, a Wilmette physician who is vice president and chief medical officer of Medical Marts.
In Illinois, Medical Marts had opened clinics in Meijer supercenter stores in Aurora, Algonquin and St. Charles.
Unlike the burgeoning number of retail clinics that are largely staffed by advanced-degree nurses known as nurse practitioners, Medical Marts staffed its clinics with two full-time primary-care physicians, as well as two full-time medical assistants or licensed practical nurses.
Medical Marts had escaped the scrutiny and criticism of the retail clinics opened by the likes of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Walgreen Co. that are staffed by nurse practitioners.
Medical groups such as the American Medical Association say clinics' nurse practitioners should have direct access to a physician and referral systems so patients with severe medical issues can be treated elsewhere.
But working with doctors can be more expensive. Staffing a clinic with two family physicians can cost more than $250,000 a year, according to salary surveys. By comparison, a licensed nurse practitioner might cost a retailer $60,000 or more a year.
Medical Marts had a goal of 400 clinics in retail outlets across the country by the end of 2009.
Despite Medical Marts' decision, retail medicine continues to grow. There are more than 900 retail medical clinics in the U.S., according to Merchant Medicine, a Minneapolis-based research and consulting firm that advises medical-care providers and employers on how to work within the retail clinic industry.
While companies such as Medical Marts that are backed by private equity have had difficulty expanding, retail clinics backed largely by giant retailers with clinics staffed by nurse practitioners continue to expand rapidly.
CVS Caremark Corp. subsidiary MinuteClinic, for example, said last week it recently opened its 500th clinic. Meanwhile, Deerfield-based Walgreens said it has nearly 150 of its Take Care brand clinics and plans to have 400 in its stores by the end of this year.
"We're strongly committed to the in-store clinic model and are seeing high levels of patient satisfaction and increased use of the clinics as awareness builds," said Walgreens' president and chief operating officer, Greg Wasson. "Take Care is the platform we intend to use to bring additional health-care services to markets, such as immunizations/vaccinations and wellness programs." 本人已认领该文编译，48小时后若未提交译文，请其他战友自由认领 多谢freelane战友的指导，做了一下修改。
在内科医师坐诊的零售药店模式盛行一时的时候，一个总部在拉斯维加斯在芝加哥郊外开了三家诊所的公司现在已经已经在全国关闭了各种零售店，据该公司的 一位高管说。
上个月，Medical Marts停止经营关闭了将近超过6家诊所，这些诊所分别在伊利诺州、密苏里州、维吉尼亚、犹他州等。该公司在四年前成立（2004年），其零售店诊所大多开设在各种零售商场，包括Shopko stores以及eijer 超级卖场。
“支持公司的风险投资家改变了主意决定资金的投入转向其他方向，”Kenneth Richmond博士说。他是Wilmette地区的内科医师，同时也是Medical Marts的副总裁和首席医学官。
在伊利诺州，Medical Marts在Aurora 、Algonquin and St. Charles 等地区的Meijer超级市场开了诊所。
Medical Marts并不象那些刚刚起步的零售店诊所那样大量招募高级职称的从业护士，而是只招聘了两个全职初级护理医师和两个医药助手或者有资格行医开简单处方的注册护士在诊所里当班。
象沃尔玛和Walgreen等企业开设的零售诊所只雇佣注册护士，其资质问题颇受争议和批评，而Medical Marts此举避开了此问题。
美国医学会等卫生组织说，诊所的注册护士应该和内科医师有直接联系且能安排治疗工作以便有严重疾病的病人在任何地方都能被治疗。
但安排医生工作的费用是很高的。据薪水调查，一个诊所雇佣两个家庭医师一年就要花费$250,000；相比之下，一个注册护士一年要花费大约$60,000或者多一点。
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2010-09-26 05:11
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