Can retailers provide local healthcare?

National retailers, including Walmart and Best Buy, are making big bets on their ability to fill the need for local healthcare, according to an article on the Harvard Business Review website.

E-retailers have left these companies with two sets of resources — large store locations and low-wage employees who are at risk of losing their jobs, article said.

Recent announcements from Walmart and Best Buy suggest they may see local healthcare as a way to redeploy their staffs.

In September, Walmart opened its first Walmart Health clinic near its existing store in Dallas, Ga. Best Buy recently suggested it wants to become known as a healthcare company, not just an electronics retailer by spending approximately $1 billion to acquire three companies that provide either healthcare monitoring services for seniors or broader services in the area of healthcare analytics.

Read the article.