Mini-Clinics are Coming
Photo: CaroWallis1
Most of us have at some point awakened to a common but uncomfortable ailment such as strep throat, poison ivy or pink eye. These conditions are ones we can’t treat on our own at home. So you haul yourself to a lengthy wait in your doctor’s office as the staff attempts to work you in. Or you might end up in an emergency room for that long wait in much less comfortable and more expensive circumstances. Take heart: a solution exists in the “mini clinic.”
Drug stores such as CVS and Walgreens and large outlets that sell drugs, like Walmart and Target have founded express clinics, designed specifically to help you with those pesky but serious ailments.* Right now 300 “mini-clinics” exist in several states. More than 4,000 will likely exist in the next few years. A quick and relatively inexpensive alternative to the doctor’s office, these clinics offer nurse practitioners to manage your care. The growing shortage of family doctors has helped spawn this popular alternative. The nurse practitioners are supervised by a physician and are quick to send people with ailments requiring sophisticated treatment on to the hospital or their physician. All prices are posted, no appointment is required and most mini-clinics are open 7 days per week.
One of the largest of these chain treatment centers, MinuteClinic, has 162 clinics in 19 states and will expand to 300 this year. Walgreens’ Take Care clinic offers exam rooms just like the doctor’s office. While physicians are concerned that the care be high quality, they support the basic concept according to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Mini-clinics can perform some routine tests and screenings, give shots, and write prescriptions. They can treat strep throat, colds, coughs, fever, flu, vomiting, bronchitis, allergies, ear and eye infections, urinary tract infections, minor injuries such as sprains, and skin conditions like cold sores, sunburn, athlete’s foot and poison ivy. They can not treat chest pains, major burns, deep lacerations, chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma or high cholesterol, nor can they set broken bones.
As an example, in the mini-clinic strep throat treatment will cost on average $59. Compare this to an emergency room charge of $328; urgent care charge of $130 or primary care charge of $100-$132.00. Many health insurance plans will cover the cost.
*Healthbolt.net is not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned in this post.
Do seminars or colleague advice forums exist on this subject?
I am interested in exploring this topic more. I would like to know what type of feasibility studies exist and how to go about determining the community need for such a service.
Thank you, Marcia