OAKLAND — Kaiser Permanente has teamed with Target for a new approach at the retailer’s in-store health clinics that will broaden the level of medical care offered.
Kaiser plans to launch four clinics in Southern California Target locations before the end of the year, staffed with licensed nurses and equipped with teleconference lines for physician consultation. Target said it operates 79 clinics staffed by Target employees, but will be able to include more care options at Kaiser-staffed clinics, such as pediatric care and women’s wellness exams, while offering convenient flu shots and other simple offerings.
“This is the evolution of expanding Kaiser Permanente’s high-quality and holistic care delivery into a setting that will provide patients with wellness support,” said Dr. Paul Minardi, a Kaiser medical director who is heading up the health care organization’s project with the Target Clinics.
Kaiser plans to treat a wide range of patients at the clinics, which it hopes gives members of its health plans a convenient way to treat chronic conditions such as diabetes while offering services to others. The Oakland-based managed-health organization is attempting to enter into contracts with other insurance plans prominent in California — namely Medicare, MediCal, and with Blue Shield of California — in order to accept their patients at the clinics, as well as accepting cash or credit.
“We’re really excited about this model,” Target health care executive Steve Lafferty told the (Minneapolis) Star-Tribune. “We are pretty confident the model is going to work based on what Kaiser Permanente brings to the table.”
While there are no current plans to expand the model to Northern California or other Target Clinics, Lafferty said that success in Southern California could lead to an expansion at more locations.
Date: November 17, 2014