To read this content please select one of the options below:

Improving access and managing healthcare demand with walk-in clinic: Convenient, but at what cost?

Anna-Aurora Kork (School of Management, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland)
Jarmo Vakkuri (School of Management, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland)

International Journal of Public Sector Management

ISSN: 0951-3558

Article publication date: 7 March 2016

1532

Abstract

Purpose

Poor access to healthcare and increasing demand for services represent a management dilemma how to balance between needs and costs. Scrutinising the concept of demand management and using a case study from Finnish primary care, the purpose of this paper is to examine the complexities of managing demand for health services.

Design/methodology/approach

Convenience has explained the popularity of walk-in clinics (WIC), making it an attractive demand management tool. By analysing the quantitative service utilisation data of frequent attenders at WIC, the paper exemplifies what enhanced access to care means for demand management of public welfare services.

Findings

High user rates and satisfaction indicate demand for this type of service; however, the establishment of WIC provided supplementary care for the high users of health services, most suffering chronic diseases.

Research limitations/implications

Better understanding of the structure of service demand is needed in order to develop a more coordinated service system and to manage demand for public welfare services.

Practical implications

The study demonstrates the importance of identifying service utilisation patterns in managing demand. Instead of single solutions, a wider system-level perspective is essential.

Originality/value

Managing demand and facilitating access are core primary care attributes but there is little evidence about the impact of demand management strategies. The paper ties together important healthcare management issues: how to control demand and improve the access? Moreover, few studies have examined the frequent attendance at WIC. This paper presents a practical illustration of demand management tool and indicates some demand management problems to be considered in healthcare management.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This research was partially supported by the town of Ylöjärvi. The authors wish to thank local professionals for support and assistance with data collection. The authors also acknowledge participants of the demand management thematic session in European Health Management Annual Conference 2013.

Citation

Kork, A.-A. and Vakkuri, J. (2016), "Improving access and managing healthcare demand with walk-in clinic: Convenient, but at what cost?", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 148-163. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-07-2015-0137

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Related articles