Andy Dow in Law360: Marriage Between Health Care And Retail Lacks Synergy

The retailization of health care has been a hot topic recently in health care and real estate industry circles alike. But what does this term really mean? From a health care perspective, it describes the evolution of the delivery of health care from a physician-centric model to a more consumer friendly, patient-centric model — much the way retail goods and services have long been delivered to customers

This means providing health care services in a much more accessible, convenient and patient-friendly manner than in the past. Most people have experienced the traditional model of receiving health care where you would travel a long distance to a sterile hospital campus to visit your primary care physician, often having difficulty finding a parking space due to the fact that all of the closest spaces were reserved for physicians.

The walk to your physician’s office might take you past the emergency room or a pediatric cancer center that would only add to your already uncomfortable feeling of going to the doctor. You were told by the physician’s office to show up 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment, only to see your doctor 45 minutes after your scheduled appointment. It is no wonder why people did not like going to the doctor.

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