By Healthcare Facilities Today

The number of retail health clinics in the U.S. is projected to double in the next three years due to the increasing demand of newly insured patients under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new report recently released by global consulting firm Accenture.

The report shows the growing number of retail health clinics, or walk-in medical facilities, located in pharmacies and retail chains across the country, is expected add capacity for 10.8 million patient visits per year. And according to Accenture’s analysis, the number of patient visits at retail clinics will account for 10 percent of non-primary care outpatient visits by the end of 2015.

“Although primary care physicians and hospitals once regarded retail clinics as a business threat, in a post-reform landscape, they are viewed as critical to facilitating future growth,” Kaveh Safavi, M.D., J.D., managing director for Accenture’s North America health business, said in a press release. “In fact, retail clinics will reduce capacity constraints by referring lower-acuity patients to clinics while ensuring hospitals have capacity for more complex cases.”

For more information, visit www.accenture.com/us-en/industry/health.