How People Access Healthcare Today Partnership Between Kroger Health and The Toledo Clinic Reflects National Trend

(Toledo)—A strategic partnership between Kroger Health (the Little Clinic) and The Toledo Clinic is part of a growing trend that impacts where the people of this region go when they seek medical care.

Dr. Marc Watkins, Chief Medical Officer of Kroger Health and Mike D’Eramo, Chief Administrative Officer of The Toledo Clinic will announce their strategic partnership and what it means to the region’s patients at a press conference to be held on September 26, 2019, at the Perrysburg Kroger, 27386 Carronade Drive, Perrysburg, at 11 AM.

Not so long ago, when people needed to see a doctor, they went to the doctor’s office or the emergency room.  After that, urgent care centers began to pop up on major streets.

Then, a new option emerged:  retail clinics, like those found at Kroger Health.

A recent eight-year study by the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that visits to retail clinics for low-acuity conditions increased 214%.  That’s a larger increase than urgent care saw (119%), while Emergency Room visits fell 36%.

The reasons for the popularity of retail clinics reflect a lot of what we know about today’s consumers.  Retail clinics offer on-demand service at convenient times.  And they help consumers in high-deductible plans save on their out-of-pocket costs while offering transparent pricing.

The strategic partnership between Kroger Health (The Little Clinic) and The Toledo Clinic will provide:

• Improved access to care for patients, especially in the evenings and on weekends, or those that need a primary care physician/specialist referral
• Strong continuity of care, as patients of The Toledo Clinic who access care at The Little Clinic will now have their records shared, for treatment purposes, with their Toledo Clinic provider