NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Apr 25, 2011) - Despite the actions of some states to regulate their activity and limit the scope of the conditions they treat, retail clinics have grown overall and will likely become a durable part of the healthcare system, according to independent healthcare market research firm Kalorama Information. The firm estimated retail clinic sales at $733.4 million, an increase of 81% per year since 2005, in its latest report, Retail Clinics 2011: Market Assessment, Supplier Sales, Key Players and Trends.

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Beginning in 2014, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law in March 2010, is expected to significantly extend health-insurance coverage in New York by increasing Medicaid enrollment and offering federal subsidies for the purchase of private health insurance. However, there is no guarantee that the newly insured will be able to access the health-care system in a timely fashion as new demand for services outstrips physician supply.

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Each year, hospitals provide billions of dollars in emergency room care to patients who could be treated in less costly settings such as urgent care centers — exacerbating rising health care costs for medical providers, insurers and consumers alike.

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After a year of retail clinic closures nearly matching the number of openings, 2011 may be the start of a rebound for the retail clinic market that will continue through 2015.

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Beginning in 2014, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is expected to significantly extend health insurance coverage by increasing Medicaid enrollment and offering federal subsidies for the purchase of private health insurance.  However, there is no guarantee that the newly insured will be able to access the health care system in a timely fashion as new demand for services outstrips physician supply, says Paul Howard, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

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With the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- the full name for "Obamacare" -- set to require that all Americans have health insurance, more people will seek medical care more frequently, health experts predict. The healthcare system is already overburdened, so a key question in New York, as elsewhere, is how can the system take in and treat the people who currently do see medical providers because they don't have the resources?

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With the sagging economy and persistently high unemployment levels squeezing consumers' pocketbooks and the new healthcare reform law extending medical coverage to 32 million uninsured people by 2019, walk-in retail clinics located in chain pharmacies, like Walgreen's, and “big box” stores, like Target, are poised to become ubiquitous — and financially lucrative.

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The convenient care industry sat back and caught its breath during 2010 after many years of working to prove itself. 2011 will likely be status quo for convenient care in terms of growth - steady but slow movement toward financial break-even. Although the industry won't change shape this year, it will settle into its rightful place in the healthcare landscape.

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Doctor asks, "Why did you come to the ER today?"

This question — emphasizing today is common practice in emergency departments — helps us figure out how urgent a patient's illness might be. But it's a loaded question. Rephrased, it could easily mean, "Do you really believe you are seriously ill, or is it just that you couldn't wait to see a regular doctor?"

In a rising trend that's flying well below the radar of most consumers, hospital systems throughout the U.S. are buying up private medical practices and hiring their own physicians at a pace not seen since the heyday of managed care in the 1990s.

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