Dive Brief:
- Kaiser Permanente clinicians and Target are teaming up to offer primary-care services, pediatric and adolescent care, women's health, family planning and management of chronic conditions at four locations in Southern California.
- This will be the first partnership between Oakland, CA-based Kaiser Permanente and Target, which has offered Target Clinics since 2001 and now has 79 locations in seven states. The collaboration will result in four Target Clinics in Southern California. Three of the clinics opened Monday in Vista, San Diego and Fontana. The fourth clinic is scheduled to open Dec. 6.
- Healthcare providers from Kaiser Permanente—licensed nurse practitioners and vocational nurses, as well as physicians, who will offer telemedicine-based consultations—will offer care to both members and non-members alike.
Dive Insight:
Target joins RiteAid, WalMart and a growing number of retailers that are offering these type of services to better serve the needs of uninsured or underinsured consumers. The walk-in clinics offer a friendly, affordable alternative to medical practices in retail locations that consumers like to frequent. And with millions of newly-insured patients expected to flood doctors' offices thanks to the Affordable Care Act, Target Clinics could make getting speedy, convenient and effective healthcare that much easier for patients.