April 3, 2007, PHILADELPHIA  – To ensure consistent, high-quality care at retail health care clinics nationwide, the Convenient Care Association (CCA), the non-profit organization for the Convenient Care Industry (CCI), has issued ten mandatory standards. Geisinger Health System, which operates two clinics in central Pennsylvania and has plans to open several more this year, supports the guidelines.

Under these standards, which clinic member operators are required to meet, patients are assured timely, accurate, treatment from qualified healthcare professionals.

“We wholeheartedly agree with these standards and ensuring the delivery of high-quality healthcare,” said Nancy Gilhooley, Geisinger CareWorks Medical Director and co-chair of the CCA’s quality committee. “Our staff has access to a wide range of best practices and clinical pathways with our electronic medical record technology. Our clinics have a patient satisfaction rating in the 90th percentile and our customers are returning or referring friends and family.”

Geisinger Ventures, which is the health system’s corporate development arm, has opened CareWorks sites in Allentown and Clarks Summit. Geisinger CareWorks providers (nurse practitioners and physician assistants) treat common medical problems at clinics located in retail settings.

“In today’s age, affordable and easily-administered healthcare is important,” said Dean Lin, Geisinger CareWorks CEO. “We’re pleased to provide this service in Pennsylvania and we applaud the CCA for taking the initiative on this issue.”

Currently, there are more than 300 Convenient Care Clinics nationwide being developed by private companies and healthcare systems like Geisinger.

Convenient Care Clinics are in 21 states with ambitious expansion plans to see that the roughly 50 percent of all emergency room patients who could/should be treated in more appropriate clinical settings are. In Pennsylvania, Governor Edward Rendell’s healthcare agenda supports using alternative clinical venues and mid-level providers to provide the care.

CCA Members are rapidly becoming a credible and necessary part of the solution to the health care crisis in America.
The standards for all retail health care clinic members of the CCA are:

1. All providers will be thoroughly credentialed for license, training and experience, with rigorous background checks to verify training and licensing.
2. All CCA Members are committed to monitoring quality on an ongoing basis, including but not limited to: peer review; collaborating physician review; use of evidence-based guidelines; collecting aggregate data on selected quality and safety outcomes; collecting patient satisfaction data.
3. All CCA Members build relationships with traditional health care providers and hospitals, and work towards a goal of using EHRs to share patient information and ensure continuity of care.
4. All CCA Members are committed to encouraging patients to establish a relationship with a primary care provider, and to making appropriate and careful referrals for follow-on care and for conditions that are outside of the scope of the clinic's services.
5. All CCA Members are in compliance with applicable OSHA, CLIA, HIPAA, and ADA standards. All CCA Members follow Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines for infection control through hand washing.
6. All CCA Members provide health promotion and disease prevention education to patients. All CCA Members provide written instructions and educational materials to patients upon leaving the clinic.
7. All CCA Members use Electronic Health Records (EHR) to ensure high-quality efficient care. All CCA Members are committed to providing all patients with the opportunity to share health information with other providers electronically or in paper format.
8. All CCA Members provide an environment conducive to quality patient care and meet standards for infection control and safety.
9. All CCA Members will establish emergency response procedures and develop relationships with local emergency response service providers to ensure that patients in need of emergency care can be transported to an appropriate setting as quickly as possible.
10. CCA Members empower patients to make informed choices about their health care. Prices for services provided at Convenient Care Clinics are readily available in a visible place outside of the examination room. Providers discuss what impact, if any, the provision of additional services will have on the ultimate cost to the patient.

“The establishment of these standards is the first major initiative adopted by the CCA,” said Tine Hansen-Turton, CCA Executive Director. “The implementation of the standards further illustrates CCA’s goal to strengthen and advance the CCI model of creating accessible, affordable, high-quality health care for all Americans.”

For more information about the CCA and to learn about its participating members, please visit www.convenientcareassociation.org.

About Geisinger Health System

Geisinger Health System is one of the nation's leading fully integrated healthcare providers. Founded in 1915, Geisinger serves more than two million residents throughout central and northeastern Pennsylvania. The physician-led organization is at the forefront of the country's rapidly emerging electronic health records movement. Geisinger includes three major regional medical centers, a 650-member group practice, a not-for-profit health insurance company, and the Geisinger Center for Health Research—dedicated to creating innovative new models for patient care, satisfaction and clinical outcomes.

CareWorks is Geisinger-administered convenient, quality healthcare in Weis supermarkets. CareWorks offers medical treatment for common illnesses such as sore throat, flu-like symptoms, respiratory infections, coughs, colds, earaches and other common problems.

About Weis Markets

Founded in 1912, Weis Markets Inc. operates 158 stores in five states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and West Virginia, where it now operates two stores. Weis Markets also owns SuperPetz, a pet supply superstore chain with 31 locations in ten states.