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I went to the Minute Clinic CVS in Smyrna,TN on 12-8-2008. I have a sore
throat. My throat also had white blisters on it as verified by family
members. I lost my job of 30 years, as many others have, 11-25-08. My
medical benefits stopped on that date so , after research on the internet, I
found out about Minuteclinic. The APN on duty that day stated
she did not see anything wrong with my throat. She took a throat culture and
put it in some kind of gel and started a stop watch that was set at 5
minutes. 3 minutes into the test she said it was negative. She refused to
write a prescription for the antibiotics I needed. I have had this same
infection before and know this will fix my problem. It seems to show up at
the same time each year. She said if I paid 30 more dollars, she would send
the culture to a lab to have it verified and would take 24 to 48 hours. She
told me it was just sinus drainage and told me to take acetaminophen 325 mg
for pain and fever. (I guess she knew I was in pain). I realized this would
not cure my throat infection. The next day I call the Minuteclinic toll free
number and explained my situation to the rep that answered the phone. She
said to go back and see her again but could not promise I would get the
medicine I needed. I went back and signed in again. While waiting, I went to
the pharmacist on duty and showed him my throat with a mag-light I took with
me. He saw the blisters on my throat. I asked why she wouldn't write a
prescription with such visible signs of a throat infection. He stated I'm
not the first to complain. He also said that less than a third of the
patients that go to Minuteclinic at that location do not get the medication
they need. On my way out I told the store manager what I just experienced.
There was nothing he could do. I understand that. Nothing against him. I
then asked the cashier to look at my throat. She confirmed she could see the
white blisters on my throat as the pharmacist did. I called the toll free
number again and explained my experience. She stated there was nothing she
could do.
I then started searching the CVS site and found this link as my starting
point. I would not recommend Minuteclinic to anyone
aside from getting a flu shot. I would have to advise your investors to be
weary of choosing your company to give their money to based on my
experience. With unemployment at a 30 year high and more people loosing
their job every day, it's a shame to lure people into Minuteclinic with the
false hope of getting the medicine they need. This is my first attempt to
correct something that is obviously wrong. Less than one third get what they
need. Do the math. Seems to be a lot of money to be made at the expense of
jobless people with no medical benefits. It's just not right. Greed is going
to be the downfall of his country. Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler are
current examples. The Big Three. Maybe it should be The Big Four.
Gotta go now. I now have something to do with my spare time.