The number of walk-in health clinics inside retail stores such as CVS, Target, Walgreens and Wal-Mart is set to quadruple by the end of 2008, drawing controversy from physicians' groups. The retail clinics offer certain key advantages over visits to doctors' offices or emergency rooms, including lower and clearly posted prices, shorter wait times and more access hours than a normal doctor's office.
However, many walk-in clinics rely on family nurse practitioners and have no physician on site. In addition, the American Medical Association and other doctors' groups have accused the clinics of a conflict of interest, because they write prescriptions that can then be filled by the pharmacy in the hosting store. Doctors have also warned that the relationship between physician and patient could be threatened as the retail clinics become more popular.
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In-store pharmacy health clinics to expand presence, offering "drive-through" disease diagnosis, pharmaceutical sales
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