Conventional wisdom among policymakers and health insurers is that retail clinics may reduce health care spending by substituting for more costly visits to physician offices or emergency departments. However, given their convenience and lower price, retail clinics may also lead to new utilization of health care services by patients who otherwise would not seek care, thus increasing spending. In his HCFO-funded study, Ateev Mehrotra, M.D., M.P.H., Harvard Medical School, and colleagues assessed whether retail clinic visits for low-acuity conditions represented substitution for more expensive care or new utilization of health care services, and whether the visits subsequently reduced health care spending.