Retail Clinics Adapt Care to Older Patients

Over the past three years, the percentage of a retail health clinic's patients being older adults has nearly doubled, rising from 8 percent to 15 percent. That number is only expected to increase in future years, so retail health clinics have begun adjusting their procedures to be easier and friendlier for seniors, reports Next Avenue . Mary Dolansky, an associate professor of nursing at Case Western Reserve University, is leading a pilot project to improve the experience for older men and women at CVS MinuteClinic locations nationwide. Dolansky and her colleagues are teaching MinuteClinic staff to use the 4M strategy to enhance care. The 4M strategy calls on healthcare professionals to consider patient mobility, medication reduction, mentation (or mental and cognitive health), and what matters to the patient when crafting a treatment plan. Initial results from MinuteClinic locations in Maine, Florida, and Ohio have been positive. Other retail health clinics have expanded their treatment options to diagnosing and managing chronic conditions like diabetes. And still more clinics are seeking to become primary care providers for older adults, even as some health experts caution that health clinics may lack proper follow-up and communication. "The most important part is to connect these folks back to their primary care providers so we can avoid unnecessary hospital admissions," asserted Dr. Marc Watkins, chief medical officer of Kroger Health's Little Clinics.