title: Patients' view of retail clinics as a source of primary care: boon for nurse practitioners?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate consumer utilities associated with major attributes of retail clinics (RCs).
  
  
  METHODS
  A discrete choice experiment (DCE) with 383 adult residents of the metropolitan statistical areas in Georgia conducted via Random Digit Dial survey of households. The DCE had two levels each of four attributes: price ($59; $75), appointment wait time (same day; 1 day or more), care setting-provider combination (nurse practitioner [NP]-RC; physician-private office), and acute illness (urinary tract infection; influenza), resulting in 16 choice scenarios. The respondents indicated whether they would seek care under each scenario.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cost savings and convenience offered by RCs are attractive to urban patients, and given sufficient cost savings they are likely to seek care there. All else equal, one would require cost savings of at least $30.21 to seek care from an NP at RC rather than a physician at private office, and $83.20 to wait one day or more.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Appointment wait time is a major determinant of care-seeking decisions for minor illnesses. The size of the consumer utility associated with the convenience feature of RCs indicates that there is likely to be further growth and employment opportunities for NPs in these clinics.
authors.affiliation: H. W. Bloch School of Management, University of Missouri-Kansas City, MO 64110, USA. ahmedar@umkc.edu
authors.forename: Arif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: Jack E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Fincham
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D003132:Commerce; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005251:Fees, Medical; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009722:Nurse Practitioners; D057240:Patient Preference