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Retail clinics in health care have been characterized as a “low-cost disruptive innovation” (Christensen, Anthony, & Roth, 2004). This article examines the retail clinic innovation, how it has grown and evolved over time, and the human resource implications of this phenomenon. The article provides a comprehensive literature review of both academic research and practitioner perspectives. Data regarding how retail clinics have impacted consumer access to health services, cost of health services, clinical outcomes, and customer satisfaction are examined. Even though retail clinics use lower cost staffing patterns than do traditional providers, data indicate positive outcomes and high levels of customer satisfaction with retail clinics. The evolution of retail clinics through multiple models and staffing patterns are discussed. The article concludes with implications for theory, health administration practice, public policy, and future research.

There are approximately 120 academic health centers (AHC) in the U.S. today whose mission is to deliver critical, tertiary care while also providing graduate medical education and conducting cutting-edge medical research. This traditional mission is overlaid by the social mission or the provision of highly specialized, complex or innovative care not readily available from other community providers to those who need it, including the poor. These missions make AHCs unique; however, they also are the focus of much controversy surrounding the management of AHCs. On one hand, there are those who advocate that AHCs operate similar to business organizations, thereby adapting strategies accordingly and revising their missions as necessary. On the other hand, there are those who believe in the uniqueness of AHCs and the necessity of upholding their traditional missions. Following from this, this paper presents a review of the literature that focuses on the changing environment facing AHCs and their strategic responses. In doing this, we argue that many are “copy cat” strategies that may have been successful for community hospitals and general business organizations but may not necessarily be appropriate for AHCs. At the end, this paper provides a debate on the mission and strategic direction of AHCs, particularly in light of the business or enterprise model and raises questions about the future management of these institutions.

Although we have yet to experience a major bioterrorism event in the U.S., we are nevertheless preparing for such an event. In this paper, we consider the nature of bioterrorism and the threats and challenges it brings to managing health care organizations. Because existing managerial theory may be inadequate in responding to bioterrorism events, management scholars are advised to approach their research with a great deal of humility and openness. Inasmuch as emerging theoretical frameworks based on complexity science and chaos theory are not fully developed, we propose that stakeholder management theory may be the best approach at this juncture.

Wal-Mart has had a major impact on both retailing and the U.S. economy in general through its supply chain management, efficiency, cost-containment, outsourcing, and market power. We examine Wal-Mart's strategy in retailing and its likely impact as it begins to make incursions into health care from the perspective of strategic entrepreneurship (SE) theory. Wal-Mart's resources including an expansion focus, low-cost culture, supply chain management, adoption of new technology, and market intelligence are described and related to the SE model. In addition, Wal-Mart's current health care services and target markets are outlined. This is the first paper which comprehensively outlines the competitive threat which Wal-Mart poses to traditional health care providers and insurers. The paper concludes with implications for the health care industry, future predictions, and potential future research.