An increasing number of Americans are using retail clinics in pharmacies and big-box stores to treat minor health needs, likely because these outlets provide treatment more quickly and conveniently than physicians and hospital emergency departments, according to a recent study from the Rand Corporation.  In their findings published in the American Journal of Managed Care, the researchers reported that the use of retail medical clinics in adults insured by Aetna increased tenfold between 2007 and 2009.

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SHOREVIEW, Minn. — Convenience care retail health clinics, which debuted 12 years ago in Cub Foods stores, are poised for healthy 10% growth in the coming year, according to “The ConvUrgentCare Report on United States Walk-In Clinics,” released this month.

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Like most people his age, Rob Mueller generally is healthy.

Mueller, 24, of Shadyside doesn't have a primary care physician, but every so often he gets sick. That happened in early January.

"It's just a cold," he said while reading a magazine in what passes for a waiting room overlooking the aisles of Walgreens in East Liberty. "I know there's not much I can do, but I thought they might be able to give me something that will make the symptoms go away quicker."

Retail health clinics are poised for an uptick in 2012, according to a new report from research and consulting firm Merchant Medicine. After several years of rapid growth and then slow growth in 2009 and 2010, the number of retail clinics rose 11.2 percent to 1,355 in 2011, The New York Times' Prescriptions blog reports. In comparison, retail clinics rose only 3 percent in 2010 and had flat growth in 2009, according to the article.

The growth of health clinics inside retail stores rebounded in 2011 and is poised for a “second spring” this year, driven by well-capitalized retailers and grocers, according to a new report.

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As Americans increasingly pay more out of pocket for their health care, millions are turning to retail clinics as a more convenient, cheaper alternative to a primary-care doctor.

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In a conversation with California Healthline, Ateev Mehrotra -- a policy analyst at the RAND Corporation -- discussed how the demand for retail clinics could grow in the coming years.

According to Mehrotra, a 2010 RAND study found that the quality of care provided at retail clinics is similar to the quality of care provided at doctors' offices and emergency departments. The study also found that the cost of receiving care at retail clinics is significantly less expensive than the cost of receiving care at doctors' offices or EDs.

Convenient care has had its ups and downs in the eyes of the professions that make the industry tick - nurse practitioners and, more recently, physician assistants. Until now, few have put much thought into the role NPs and PAs play in the overall success of convenient care. But those shaping the industry are wise to do some research on the convenient care workforce in order to advise groups that want to open clinics.

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The health policy world has a love-hate relationship with retail clinics, the medical facilities based in stores like Wal-Mart or CVS. It loves the idea of delivering care faster and cheaper, and that potential has made inroads with skeptics like the Incidental Economist’s Aaron Carroll. But there’s also a decent amount of disdain from doctors: Will care provided in a retail store really be as good as that given in a physician’s office? Can stand-alone clinics survive in a health-care system that is becoming increasingly more integrated?

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When she started having symptoms of a sinus infection last week, Stephanie Barclay headed to her neighborhood Walmart store — not to buy home remedies, but to get treatment.She walked into the Baptist Express Care clinic that opened inside the store a few months ago, waited several minutes, then was examined by a nurse practitioner.

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