Walmart is making a move into delivering primary care, according to an article on the Forbes website. It has opened a half-dozen clinics across South Carolina and Texas, and plans to launch six more before the end of the year.
The clinics will be staffed by nurse practitioners, in a partnership with QuadMed.
Walmart already has more than 100 retail clinics. Unlike those clinics, these new primary care clinics are fully owned by the company and branded as one-stop shops for primary care.
They will be open longer and later than competitors: 12 hours per day during the week and another more than eight hours per day on weekends.
Walmart says their clinics will be a low-cost alternative to traditional options: Walk-in visits will cost $40.
For the hundreds of thousands of Walmart employees covered by the company health plan the price is $4.
Walmart’s move is part of the broader trend of retailers, big-box stores, and other non-traditional competitors charging into health care delivery, the article said.
The Proper Way to Use Cleaning Carts
JPS Health Network Breaks Ground on New Hospital
Saint Anthony Hospital Reports Email Breach
Healthcare Facilities are Shifting Toward More Holistic Designs
Froedtert Hospital Unveils Six-Level Parking Structure