title: Parents' experiences with pediatric care at retail clinics.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Little is known about the use of retail clinics (RCs) for pediatric care.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe the rationale and experiences of families with a pediatrician who also use RCs for pediatric care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study with 19 pediatric practices in a Midwestern practice-based research network.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parents attending the pediatrician’s office.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parents’ experience with RC care for their children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 1484 parents (91.9% response rate) completed the self-administered paper survey. Parents (23.2%) who used the RC for pediatric care were more likely to report RC care for themselves (odds ratio, 7.79; 95% CI, 5.13-11.84), have more than 1 child (2.16; 1.55-3.02), and be older (1.05; 1.03-1.08). Seventy-four percent first considered going to the pediatrician but reported choosing the RC because the RC had more convenient hours (36.6%), no office appointment was available (25.2%), they did not want to bother the pediatrician after hours (15.4%), or they thought the problem was not serious enough (13.0%). Forty-seven percent of RC visits occurred between 8 am and 4 pm on weekdays or 8 am and noon on the weekend. Most commonly, visits were reportedly for acute upper respiratory tract illnesses (sore throat, 34.3%; ear infection, 26.2%; and colds or flu, 19.2%) and for physicals (13.1%). While 7.3% recalled the RC indicating it would inform the pediatrician of the visit, only 41.8% informed the pediatrician themselves.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents with established relationships with a pediatrician most often took their children to RCs for care because access was convenient. Almost half the visits occurred when the pediatricians’ offices were likely open.
authors.forename: Jane M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Garbutt
authors.forename: Kathy M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Mandrell
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Randall
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sterkel
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kreusser
authors.forename: Jerome
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: O'Neil
authors.forename: Blaine
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sayre
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sitrin
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stahl
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Strunk
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010372:Pediatrics