Legal Liability in Convenient Care Clinics. Much ado about nothing

Health care in this country is at a crossroads. Consumers are demanding accessible, quality health care at a reasonable price. In response to this mandate, new models of delivery are flourishing. The fastest growing of these models is the convenient care (or retail) clinics, which are staffed primarily by nurse practitioners and physician assistants. The success of this model has generated multiple concerns about legal liabilities, especially in the areas of scope of practice and scope of service. This manuscript attempts to show that there is no compromise in the quality of care and that consumers are overwhelmingly satisfied with the care that they have received from these clinics.