Retail Health Industry Continues to Innovate

After a long winter, spring is finally upon us. I am very excited for the second annualConvenient Healthcare and Pharmacy Collaborative (CHPC)conference, which will be held in partnership with Pharmacy Times fromJuly 19-21, 2016, at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort inOrlando, Florida. Many of you have already taken advantage of the early bird rate, but we highly encourage those who have not yet done so to register before the rates increase on April 18.

CHPC is a unique event that brings together the providers at the heart of retail health—nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists—to network, discuss best practices to improve patient outcomes, and consider ways to further revolutionize health care delivery through innovative and effectual collaboration.

In addition to the conference’s collaborative continuing education sessions, the Convenient Care Association will present theConvenient Healthcare Executive Leadership Symposium, which will take place on the first day of CHPC and be open to all attendees. Through 5 dynamic and thought-provoking sessions,attendees will gain insight from retail health leaders on the most pressing issues affecting the industry.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) recently marked its fifth anniversary of implementation, and health reform efforts continue to advance and develop. At theHealthcare Reform Updates and the Impact on Retail Healthsymposium session, health care policy experts will delve into what has happened over the last 5 years, what is on the horizon, and how future reform may impact retail health.

With the outbreak of Ebola—and more recently, the Zika virus—retail health has been identified as an increasingly important part of public health emergency efforts. At theRole of Retail Health in Public Health Emergenciessymposium session, leaders from the CDC will discuss the role of retail health during pandemics and other emergencies.

The depth and breadth of retail clinics during public health crises is bolstered by their ability to partner and innovate. ThePartnerships to Continue the Disruption and Innovationsymposium session will educate attendees about the evolution of retail health partnerships that have enabled the industry to keep disrupting and innovating.

With disruption comes opposition, and the retail health industry is no stranger to these challenges. Coined the “data wiz kids,” the industry itself and many third-party research powerhouses are always tracking data related to quality, which will be showcased during theIndustry Research Updatessymposium session. We’re excited to share some recent data on the retail health industry as it relates to population health, care quality, and patient outcomes.

I look forward to seeing you at CHPC!

Tine Hansen-Turton serves as the founding executive director for the Convenient Care Association (CCA), the national trade association for the over 2000 private-sector retail clinics industry, which serves millions of individuals 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, policy development, and state and national advocacy.