In December 2008, Cure CVS released a report which found CVS is far more likely to locate MinuteClinics in predominantly white and affluent communities, rather than low income areas or areas with majority residents of color. A new study from the University of Pennsylvania corroborates these findings. The study, published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, looked at 930 retail clinics at CVS pharmacies, Walgreens and Wal-Mart stores and found that most clinics were located in areas with fewer residents of color, lower poverty rates, and higher median incomes than areas without retail clinics. Dr. Craig Pollack of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, quoted by Reuters, said in a statement that the clinics "are significantly less likely to be located in poor or underserved neighborhoods."
Of the 930 clinics included in the survey, according to the Associated Press, only 123 were located in areas defined by the federal government as "medically underserved." Areas with clinics had lower percentages of black and Hispanic residents, lower rates of poverty, higher rates of home ownership and higher median incomes. Affluent neighborhoods, on the other hand, were more likely to have in-store clinics, despite those areas' generally greater access to medical care, according to the AP.
These findings are particularly disappointing in light of the fact that in-store clinics have been touted as an affordable health care option for the poor and uninsured. CVS currently has over 500 MinuteClinics in its stores, but in several regions of the country the company has chosen to locate clinics away from urban centers where low-income people and people of color are concentrated. Read more about this issue here.
Retail clinics serve wealthier neighborhoods-study [Reuters, 5/25/09]
Study: Few retail clinics in poor neighborhoods [Associated Press, 5/25/09]