From the Editor: Welcome to Contemporary Clinic!

Since the advent of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, millions of Americans now have health insurance that was previously unattainable. When we consider the Health Resources and Services Administration estimate that aging and population growth will account for 81% of the increase in demand for health care between 2010 and 2020, it becomes clear that the demand for primary health care providers has increased and will continue to grow.

Although the number of primary care physicians in the United States continues to decrease, advanced practice clinicians, including nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants, are taking up the cause and working in many primary care settings, including convenient care clinics. Convenient care clinics are attractive to cost-conscious consumers because they offer convenient, affordable, high-quality care with almost no wait time.

More than 2000 convenient care clinics are in operation in over 40 states and Washington, DC, and approximately 97% are members of the Convenient Care Association (CCA). The CCA is the national trade association of companies and health care systems that provide consumers with accessible, affordable, high-quality health care in convenient care locations. The CCA works primarily to enhance and sustain the growth of the convenient care industry through sharing best practices and common standards of operation.

With this in mind, I am proud to say that the CCA has partnered with the publishers ofPharmacy Timesto create this new publication to address the needs of the convenient care clinician. Many of the articles inContemporary Clinicare written by advanced practice clinicians working in the convenient care environment and will provide the necessary information their fellow clinicians need to improve their practice and, in turn, patient outcomes.Contemporary Clinicprovides the practical tools to effectively manage the everyday business of running a successful convenient care clinic and the latest clinical updates on focused therapeutic areas that relate to patient care in the convenient care setting.

We hope that you will enjoy this, our inaugural issue, which encompasses acute, chronic, and preventive care situations that the convenient care advanced practice clinician could face as the new school year begins. In addition to practice- based information, this issue offers the latest medical news and trends on approved drugs and research findings, as well as valuable information for your patients. Finally, as we strive to continue to assist in professional development for advanced practice clinicians, we have included a valuable continuing education activity on the growing trend of diagnosing and treating chronic diseases in convenient care clinics.

Be sure to look out for our next issue in October 2015, which will focus on diabetes.

Tine Hansen-Turton serves as the founding executive director for the Convenient Care Association (CCA), the national trade association for the over 2,000 private-sector retail clinics industry, which serves millions of people with basic health care services across the country, and has been coined by Harvard professor Clayton Christensen as a “disruptive health innovation.” She assists CCA with business and programmatic strategy, development, coordination and implementation, as well as with policy development and state and national advocacy.