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Children frequently need medical care for a wide range of ailments, such as the common cold or a broken bone. Parents who settle on one pediatrician often will stick to that doctor since the doctor is already familiar with the child's history. Even though parents continue to bring children to their primary care physicians, a new study reports that some parents are starting to turn to other options, specifically clinics for treating minor health issues. This study found that parents with children patients are choosing retail clinics due to convenience as opposed to quality.

"While many patients and health insurance companies positively endorse RCs [retail chains], professional organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians, have raised concerns about the quality of care provided at RCs and the effect of fragmenting care on patients' overall health," the study authors wrote according to CBS News. The study was headed by Dr. Jane Garbutt who is an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO.

Based from the fact that retail clinics have been on the rise, the researchers decided to find out just how often people frequented them. The researchers sent out surveys to around 1,500 parents who were present in the waiting rooms of 19 different pediatric practices in the Midwest. In the brief interview, the researchers asked parents whether or not they utilized retail clinics for themselves or for their children. The researchers found that 23 percent of parents admitted using retail clinics for their children. The types of medical cases that often arise at these clinics involved sore throats (34 percent), ear infections (26 percent) and the common cold (19 percent). Around 70 percent of the parents stated that the clinics had prescribed them with an antibiotic. This rate is a lot higher than the prescription rate of pediatric practices.

According to the study, there are around 6,000 clinics located in retail stores, such as Walgreens and CVS. These retail clinics often offer appointments all week including evenings. The wait time is usually short and there is a simple, fixed pricing system. These clinics are mostly composed of non-pediatric nurse practitioners and physician assistants. None of them are actual pediatricians. However, despite not having an actual doctor in the clinic, parents are willing to bring their children there for convenience. 37 percent of parents stated that they ended up at a retail clinic due to the convenient hours. A quarter of the parents stated that they were unable to get an appointment with their pediatrician. 13 percent of the parents stated that they did not believe that the illness was serious enough for a doctor visit.

"Even parents whose children have a primary care pediatrician who they know and trust may not always believe they have convenient and timely access to their care provider," Garbutt explained in the study according to Reuters.

In terms of the level of satisfaction, around 62 percent of parents were 'satisfied' with the retail clinic. Around 33 percent stated that they were 'very satisfied' with the retail clinic. Even though retail clinics can be good for some people to a certain extent, the researchers remind people to discuss retail clinics with their primary care physicians, especially if the retail clinic prescribed medications. These medications should be documented for history purposes.

"[RCs are] good for certain things," commented Dr. Kavita Patel, an internist from Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. "The key for patients is to know that if you have something that required more chronic management or seeing a doctor for follow-up tests, then you might want to make sure you're going back to your primary care physician."

The study was published in JAMA Pediatrics.