A health clinic providing professional care for common ailments, minor injuries and routine medical screenings has opened inside the Longs Drugs at the Hamilton Plaza on Bascom Avenue. WellnessExpress Clinic--a professional corporation independent of Longs-- has opened one of its newest facilities in Northern California. Campbell is one of the three new locations; Sunnyvale and the Longs Drugs on Tully Road in San Jose are the others.

The Campbell WellnessExpress clinic, which opened on Nov. 10, is on the cusp of a growing trend in healthcare of providing medical services inside retail stores that sell pharmaceuticals.

"We handle everyday medical problems that represent about 50 percent of what happens in a doctor's office or the E.R., and the emphasis is on short or no waiting times," said Paul T. Kaufmann, president of WellnessExpress Healthcare Inc., a management company providing services to WellnessExpress Clinic.

WellnessExpress is the first company to open medical offices in a retail chain store in California.

The clinic's aim is to offer inexpensive, unscheduled health care, provided by licensed nurse practitioners and physician assistants. When WellnessExpress was founded in October 2004 in San Ramon, there were only two or three other clinics like it in the country, said WellnessExpress medical director Joseph Toscano. Now, "the concept is taking off," he said.

"There are many companies doing this now--all of them on a small scale, but it seems like something appealing to enough people that it's becoming a facet of health care in and of itself," Toscano said.

By law, a drug company such as Longs cannot practice medicine, but many large retailers that operate pharmacies, such as Wal-Mart, are beginning to put in clinics such as WellnessExpress in their stores.

"If you need a prescription, you can fill it right there," Toscano said. WellnessExpress now has six clinics in California, all of which lease space from Longs because of its solid reputation as a pharmacy.

Toscano, a physician who also works full time in the emergency room of the San Ramon Regional Medical Center, said he thinks the concept is becoming popular because of the long wait associated with doctors offices and emergency rooms, and the increasing costs of these services.

"Doctors take care of patients with all levels of complexity of illness," he said. "Because you have to be prepared for that, it costs a little more and it takes a little longer."

Toscano said the new clinic in Campbell has gotten a good response from the community so far. The clinic is in the back left corner of the store and provides information about its services in both English and Spanish.

Prices for all of its services are listed outside the office. Services include vaccinations and physicals and treatment for minor injuries, conditions such as acne and illnesses such as ear or bladder infections. Toscano said the Campbell clinic already ran out of its first batch of flu vaccinations, but that more will be available.

Kaufmann said that since the clinics only provide simple, standard treatments, they are able to see many patients quickly. He said the clinics should be able to accommodate roughly 30 patients in a 10-hour shift. If there happens to be a wait at the clinic, customers can pick up a pager so they can shop while waiting to be seen.

The clinics accept direct payments as well as some insurance plans.

"The advantage is considerable to the member company as well as to the patient from a cost standpoint," Kaufmann said.

He said the average cost of a WellnessExpress visit is $60, while the average cost of visiting a doctor's office is $120 and the average cost of going to an emergency room is $350.

The clinic in Campbell has two nurse practitioners and one physician assistant on staff, though only one person is on duty at a time. Toscano, who hires all the medical practitioners, said the staff at the Campbell clinic all have at least 10 years of experience in this field.

Though all practitioners are professionally trained, Kaufmann said the clinic is not meant to serve as a substitute for seeing a primary care physician.

"We only see a patient one time for a particular illness and then refer them to a physician," he said. "The doctors love it because it means they're actually seeing a sick patient, and we're relieving the clogging of their waiting rooms and the E.R. rooms."

Toscano said before opening the first WellnessExpress clinic, he researched the different protocols for treating typical illnesses.

"You may find there's two or three ways to take care of a patient with a sore throat," he said. "We try to take care of it in a standardized way that's backed up by the medical literature."

If the practitioner on duty at a clinic has a question, Toscano and other physicians are available by phone. Toscano also reviews all records of visits, to ensure that quality care is being provided.

WellnessExpress is also working in affiliation with UC-San Francisco School of Nursing to give nurses more experience.

The WellExpress Clinic is located inside Longs Drugs, 1720 S. Bascom Ave. No appointment is necessary. Clinic hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For more information call 408.626.9000.