Kaiser Permanente-Target partnership further shakes up primary care

Kaiser Permanente clinicians will now staff clinics at three San Diego-area Target stores, the two companies announced this weekend, with a fourth opening Dec. 6. The partnership represents the "latest in a list of collaborations between the hospital and retail world," H&HN Daily reported, blurring the line between the two. Healthcare networks increasingly are "buddying up to CVS, Walgreens and the like, looking to add access points to their systems, spread their brand in the community and collaborate with clinic-employed nurse practitioners"--although in this case, Kaiser is providing the nurse practitioners, according to the article. What also distinguishes this deal from others is that the licensed nurse practitioners and licensed vocational nurses staffing the clinics will be allowed to use telemedicine to consult with physicians with necessary, thus reducing the "dead ends in the retail environment for healthcare," John Holcomb, Target's vice president of healthcare, told MedCity News. Read the full article from FierceHealthcare