WOONSOCKET, R.I. — MinuteClinic has opened its first retail health clinics in Louisiana, marking the 27th state where it has a presence.

The CVS Caremark subsidiary said Wednesday that four walk-in medical clinics are now open for business inside CVS/pharmacy stores in Baton Rouge, Mandeville, Slidell and Thibodaux, La.

Plans call for for more MinuteClinics to open later this month in Kenner, Metairie, New Orleans and Prairieville, La.

"We face a significant shortage in primary care providers, an aging baby boomer population and soon the addition of millions of newly insured patients through the Affordable Care Act," MinuteClinic president Andrew Sussman said in a statement. "By increasing access to high-quality, affordable care at convenient clinic locations where patients shop, MinuteClinic can help support the primary care medical home in Louisiana."

In Louisiana, MinuteClinics operate from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. More than half of MinuteClinic visits occur on evenings, weekends and holidays, noted Sussman, who’s also senior vice president and associate chief medical officer at CVS Caremark.

Patients who visit MinuteClinic without a primary care physician (PCP) are provided a list of doctors in the area who are accepting new patients. "About half of the patients we see do not have a physician," Sussman added.

Overall, MinuteClinic has more than 700 locations nationwide, including in the District of Columbia. CVS said MinuteClinic’s entry into Louisiana is part of a plan to open 150 clinics nationwide by the end of this year.

In late September, MinuteClinic made its debut in Hawaii with the opening of the first of seven planned clinics inside Longs Drug Stores over the following two weeks. The entry into Hawaii represented MinuteClinic’s first new state in five years and the first of three new states planned for 2013, according to CVS.