Convenient Care Association

"For someone like myself who has a high deductible and pays for all office visits [and] meds, this is the perfect place for us to come. I would not hesitate to come back - the care was excellent."

- Aurora QuickCare Patient Survey Response, 2006.

"The American College of Nurse Practitioners supports the Convenient Care Industry as an accessible, high quality mode of healthcare delivery."

- American College of Nurse Practitioners, 2006.

"Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota found that visits to Convenient Care Clinics cost half as much as visits to physicians' offices for similar conditions."

- Time Magazine, 2006.

"A recent survey shows that 78% of adults feel strongly that retail-based health centers provide a convenient way for people to get basic medical services."

- The Wall Street Journal, 2005.

"Evidence shows that Convenient Care Clinics do not increase overall demand for medical services, but offer an alternative for consumers facing access problems within the traditional health care system."

- California HealthCare Foundation, 2006.

Quality of Care

All CCA Members use standardized protocols and guidelines to assist nurse practitioners (NP), physician assistants (PA) and physicians (MD or DO) in clinical decision making. (These protocols are not intended to replace the critical thinking or the clinical judgment of the providers, but to enhance the decision making process.) The leading CCCs' protocols are grounded in evidence-based medicine and guidelines published by respected health care bodies and government entities.
All CCA Members incorporate rigorous quality assessments into their practice, such as:

Formal chart review by experienced clinicians

Peer-review by NPs and PAs

Medical diagnosis and treatment code auditing

Processes to ensure that all providers possess an adequate experience level to work in this new independent setting

In addition, all NPs and PAs are nationally certified in their specialty by their respective governing bodies. Furthermore, all Convenient Care Clinics comply with all state regulations regarding the practice of all health care clinicians.
One of the primary goals of the CCA is to provide resources to identify standardized guidelines that are evidence-based to ensure the highest quality of care throughout all Convenient Care Clinics. To achieve this goal, the CCA has assembled a Clinical Advisory Board. The purpose of this advisory board is to:

set expectations for members regarding clinical quality;

support CCA members by providing clinical quality resources; and

evaluate the convenient care model through outcomes studies.

The Clinical Advisory Board is co-chaired by Nancy Gilhooley, MD, of Careworks Convenient Healthcare (a service of Geisinger Medical System), and Sandra F. Ryan, CPNP, of Take Care Health Systems. Michael J. O'Neil of Medpoint Express (Memorial Hospital and Health System) chairs the CCA Board of Directors' Quality and Compliance Committee, which guides the work of the Clinical Advisory Board.
In addition to representatives from CCA Member organizations, the advisory board includes participants from many of the country's most respected provider associations and accrediting bodies. The advisory board has already provided invaluable input and recommendations that the CCA has used to create standards to guide the Convenient Care industry. Going forward, the Clinical Advisory Board will provide guidance and input that will help the CCA identify appropriate sources for evidence-based guidelines and best practices that can be used to ensure the highest quality care throughout the Convenient Care industry.

To read a March 2007 news release describing the CCA's Quality and Safety Standards, please visit the CCA Newsroom.

To read the full version of the CCA's Quality and Safety Standards, please visit the Resources section of our website.
To learn about the CCA's Quality Assurance initiative, please read the CCA Quality Care Factsheet (PDF)