Target Clinics Staff NPs; Other Fun Target Stuff

Target, which once partnered with MinuteClinic in its stores now operates its own clinics in Maryland and the twin cities area of Minnesota. Target Clinic follows the same quick, convenient-care model as other retail health clinics, and are staffed by nurse practitioners through a medical staffing company called Target Clinic Medical Associates.

Target seems to have an uncanny sense of what people want (and maybe that's why my car seems to drive me there on auto-pilot fairly regularly). And it doesn't stop at milk, eggs, and batteries (or those cute shoes I bought last week). For example, a mailer they sent out to customers in the twin cities area offered a $10 gift card to those who visited the clinic, as well as information about other health-related tools available at Target, such as their health spending receipt, which marks and totals spending on items that may be eligible for coverage through a health savings account. Target Pharmacy also has $4 generic drugs and a ClearRx program, with color-coded bottles and large-print labels. They even have an automatic refill system so that pharmacists refill the prescription and patients get an email or phone call when it's ready. Pretty neat.