Four ways hospitals can compete with retail health clinics

If you can’t join them, beat ’em

If you haven’t noticed, retail clinics are starting to gain popularity across the nation and for a couple of critical reasons. Healthcare consumers are yearning for convenience and efficiency, due to the way certain industries have conditioned them to instant gratification. For example, online TV streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu enable users to watch television — whatever TV show they want — on demand. 

It doesn’t end there. The fast food industry (yes it gets more convenient than a drive-thru) is now capitalizing on “click-to-schedule” services. Pizza Hut and Dominos now offer online pizza scheduling, so you can skip the phone call and schedule a pizza delivery online.

Consumers have spoken: They want service now.

How does this affect hospitals and other healthcare organizations? Retail clinics provide care to busy folks on their way home from work, school or running errands.  And research shows that about 30 percent of the population lives within 10 mins of a retail clinic. In the 2015, retail clinics such as CVS’ Minute Clinic have expanded by 1,200, and there’s no sign of these micro medical facilities slowing down. Major players such as Target and Walmart are working to grow their clinic services, too.

They are also cheap. With the rising cost of healthcare, and more and more consumers choosing high-deductible health plans, the market is becoming increasingly competitive. Compared to hospitals and physician practices, retail clinics are tremendously inexpensive.

Additionally, medical staff at clinics may have loyalty to a particular hospital or healthcare system. If a more serious medical illness arises, they can refer a patient to whatever organization they choose, with little to no external influence.

Innovative ways to compete with clinics:

• Focus on a competitive edge: Offer customer service that your competitors cannot reach, such as a concierge, valet parking, open earlier or stay open later, and offer online appointment scheduling.
• Be more convenient: Introduce telemedicine to your organization if you haven’t already. Video chatting with a doctor from your sofa is more convenient than driving to a clinic, even if it’s just 10 minutes away.
• Focus on quality: Advertise your qualified physicians and nurses. Your hospital is packed with professionals, whereas clinics are extremely  limited.
• Be fast: Triage quickly and get people in and out of the door.

To learn more about how to implement these service watch our latest 15-minute webinar Three Imperative for Healthcare Marketers.