The Rise of Medtail

The integration of health care services into retail environments has increased dramatically over the last decade. 50% of retail pharmacy users indicated that they would be willing to use retail health services, and 49% of consumers indicated they would rather use retail clinics than standalone clinics for basic care.

Interior of Tia, a women’s health clinic which has prioritized good design and user experience

While many think of retail health as standalone urgent care clinics, the landscape of retail health is quite varied. With the launch of MinuteClinic, CVS has conducted 18M patient visits since 2000 and has doubled down on their health clinic strategy, rolling out more comprehensive clinics called HealthHubs in many of their stores. Walgreens has partnered with primary care provider VillageMD to create in-store clinics, and WalMart is partnering with Oak Street for in-store clinics and medical services. Other tech-enabled providers such as Forward and One Medical are opening locations in malls and more traditional retail locations.

CVS Health Hub

Consumers want convenient access to healthcare and a good user experience. Health providers should create inviting, well-designed spaces in retail settings to capture consumer interest and improve patient engagement with health services.