Retail Medical Clinic Operators Hit a Rough Patch

Retail walk-in medical clinics in pharmacies are proving more difficult to establish than initially thought. The clinics are more complicated and expensive to operate. It seems, operators and investors were overly optimistic in their return on investment estimates. The clinics are experiencing an 18 to 24 month break-even rather than the initial projections of a six month break-even. Much of the added cost is in marketing to make the public aware the service exists in each market and to gain acceptance. While the pubilc likes the convenience of the walk-ins, it takes a lot of users to make it pay.