Retail-Based Clinics: Recommendations for Patients

As the number of retail-based clinics grows, and as more patients visit them, practices should take extra precautions to ensure that their patients are using them appropriately, and in a way that does not lead to continuity of care problems.

In a February 2014 press release, The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) shared some recommendations for parents who choose to visit retail clinics with their children. If your practice is concerned about patients' retail clinic use, you may want to consider sharing similar recommendations with your patients.

According to the AAP, parents should ask if the clinic has a formal relationship with their pediatrician, if the clinic will communicate with the pediatrician about the visit, and what the protocol is for following up if the illness does not resolve or the clinic is closed.

"Parents should consider only using retail-based clinics that have a formal relationship with their child’s pediatrician," says the AAP.

For more, visit bit.ly/AAP-statement.