MinuteClinic Celebrates 1000 Retail Clinic Locations

The fastest-growing provider of retail clinics has another feather to put in its cap, as CVS Health’s MinuteClinic has expanded to 1000 locations nationwide.

This milestone was marked by the opening of a MinuteClinic in Washington, DC, according to a CVS Healthpress release. A previous release from CVS Health noted that the company expects to operate 1500 retail clinics by 2017.

The walk-in clinics are currently located in 31 states, plus DC, and they provide care for more than 26 million patients.

MinuteClinic Chief Nurse Practitioner Angela Patterson, MS, FNP-BC, toldContemporary Clinicthat the company’s expanded footprint “enables us to increase access to quality, affordable, convenient health care (and) support population health and public health initiatives not only locally and regionally, but also on a national scale.”

“We’re really excited about hitting the 1000 clinic mark. For us, it’s a huge milestone and exemplary of our commitment to expanding access to affordable, convenient, quality care…in a way that has reach for many more millions of Americans,” she said.

MinuteClinic has several goals that include initiating new services, expanding telehealth services, and increasing clinical collaborations with more than 60 health-system affiliates.

“Whether it’s treating patients in urban centers like Washington, DC, or developing new ways to deliver care in other settings, the MinuteClinic mission to provide accessible health care will continue to evolve,” said Andrew Sussman, MD, MinuteClinic president and CVS Health executive vice president/associate chief medical officer, in a press release.

As the United States faces a shortage of primary care physicians, retail clinics like MinuteClinic will be stepping in to help provide care to patients,Forbesreported.

Some of the services that MinuteClinic currently provides are prescriptions for common illnesses; treatment for minor wounds, skin conditions, and abrasions; and vaccines. The clinics also offer walk-in availability for sports and college physicals, plus wellness services designed to help treat diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

The company’s first retail clinic opened 15 years ago.

Additional reporting by Katie Eder, Senior Editor.