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Quick Fix

Retail clinics are burgeoning. But whom are they really serving?

400
Number of retail clinics, also known as convenient care clinics, offering walk-in services for basic medical care (such as flu shots, physicals and strep tests) that are typically staffed by nurse practitioners, supervised by off-site physicians and located in chain stores like Wal-Mart

700
Number of retail clinics that industry leader MinuteClinics plans to open by 2008

15
Approximate maximum wait time, in minutes, at a retail clinic  (some clinics offer to page shoppers when the nurse can see them) 

20.2
Average wait time, in minutes, for a doctor’s appointment

90
Percentage of clinic visitors at Target who come for the care but end up shopping as well

$31
Average amount an insurer saves when a patient visits a MinuteClinic rather than a physician’s office or an urgent care facility

$40-$70
Average price of services at a retail clinic

200-500
Number of square feet a retail clinic typically occupies, replacing less-profitable departments

60
Percentage of retail clinics that do not accept insurance, making middle-class patients less likely to visit them than higher-income ($100,000 and more), convenience-craving consumers and the uninsured who cannot afford alternatives

$77
Amount, in millions, that the chain Take Care Health Systems received from venture capitalists to expand into new geographic markets in 2006