HCFO Researcher Quoted in Wall Street Journal on Retail Clinics and Care Continuity

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In an article describing the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) concerns about retail clinics providing primary care, the Wall Street Journal quoted HCFO grantee Ateev Mehrotra, M.D., Harvard Medical School. Mehrotra noted that patients cite the convenience of retail clinics as having significant appeal. In his HCFO-funded work, Mehrotra found that patients who visit a retail clinic are subsequently less likely to seek care from a primary care physician, echoing the AAP’s concerns that retail clinics may disrupt continuity of care. Yet, Mehrotra added that with increasing demands on pediatricians’ time, retail clinics provide an accessible alternative to families, and better communication and cooperation between pediatricians and retail clinics is needed.