The Mass Medical Society doesn't get it
Argue from your Ivory towers all you like. It's meaningless in this day and age. Here's why:
1) If you have an illness that probably falls within the conditions treated by MinuteClinics, and you try to go to your normal doctor, you're probably going to be seen by a midlevel.
2) Medicine is a business, as much as we'd like to pretend that it's not. It is subject to the same economic principles as everything else.
3) Bearing in mind point #2, recall that it is virtually impossible to see your primary care doctor for anything but a visit scheduled months in advance. Until you address that problem, your arguments (no matter how well-reasoned) don't count for much.
4) MinuteClinic has ways of sharing records with doctors. This "continuity of care" argument is nothing but a red herring that sounds nice. All providers have to do is sign up. It is also possible to get referrals from MinuteClinic. (And that's good for YOUR business.)
5) MinuteClinics fill a niche that PCPs are not. That they CANNOT fill using a traditional business model. Change your business model or lose your bread-and-butter: your easy in-and-out patients.
6) MinuteClinics are going to keep more people out of EDs. And that, I think you would agree, is a Good Thing.
Blow smoke all you want. You're not going to stop MinuteClinics from coming. You have two options: embrace them or compete with them. Everything else is meaningless. If you want to stop them, educate your doctors on how to better compete with these health-care-in-a-box places. It's not hard. You've got a built-in advantage. You can monologue if it makes you feel better, but trust me, the public doesn't care. And I don't either.
And while we're at it, let's call this what it is: turf protection. You're trying to protect your turf under the guise of patient care, and there's nothing wrong with that. But railing against it is the wrong way to go about it. You need to be smart: protect your turf using business tactics, not monologues.
But since you're apparently uninterested in doing that, you're going to guarantee that MinuteClinic will gain an easy hold, even in Massachusetts where doctors are a dime a dozen. People WANT to see THEIR doctor. They'd much prefer that over going to see someone they have no relationship with at a Minute Clinic. But until doctors start setting aside time for same-day appointments, en masse, these Minute Clinics are going to thrive.
There's a reason moms like drive-throughs in their pharmacies. Think about that.
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Quick When You’re Sick
Recently in the media, issues have been addressed regarding the specialty of primary care or family practice doctors and the shortage of them in the U.S. In summary, reasons for the shortage that exists are due to the specialty not being that profitable for a doctor compared with other specialties. As a consequence, the doctors view the specialty as not a desirable choice apparently quite often, although the specialty is greatly needed in the health care system and for the public health.
As a layperson, I view primary care as ultimately a specialist in nothing in particular, yet knowledgeable in a large variety of medical areas, which I believe, makes them very valuable to those patients seeking restoration of their health. Furthermore, there is a comfort level with those in this specialty compared with other specialties, one could speculate. So the shortage of primary care doctors is in fact disappointing. Perhaps most disappointing is the atrophy of the doctor-patient relationship unique with such doctors.
Yet one possible solution is what is known as retail care clinics, and their popularity was increasing not long ago for a variety of reasons.
First, I’ll offer a definition of a retail clinic: A retail clinic is usually located in a convenient location, such as a shopping area, and are smaller than most doctors’ offices in regards to geographical space. Usually, these clinics are staffed with a nurse practitioner that often have the ability and authority to provide the same quality care as a primary care physician, and do so with the same standards regarding accountability and autonomy. If you happen t o go to one for what may be considered a mild ailment, for example, for such conditions as allergies or the flu, you will notice a unique and pleasant paradigm towards your care at such a clinic:
They are quick. You are normally in and out of there within a half hour or so. This includes a thorough assessment and treatment regimen offered. Unlike typical doctor offices, these clinics are walk-in clinics, so there is no over-booking of patients.
You actually dialogue with your health care provider more so than you have experienced in a traditional doctor’s office due to other doctor offices often being incredibly busy from seeing too many patients during a typical day, as this is coerced and dictated by the health care system that employs these primary care doctors you may have seen in the past, which is typically the case.
The cost of going to such a retail clinic, which is sometimes termed an ‘urgent care light’ clinic, is usually about ¾ the cost of a typical primary care doctor visit.
You will likely notice no decline in the quality of care that you receive. In fact, likely you will experience greater quality on many different levels, both on a personal and clinical level.
Critics of such clinics include the American Medical Association and various medical societies, yet in my opinion, they are simply vexed because of the invasion of these clinics on their turf.
If it is discovered that you need greater medical care or attention than the retail clinic can provide for you during your visit at their urgent care light clinic, you will be referred to a location that can provide the care you are determined to need by the clinic’s heath care provider, who has likely relationships with the hospitals and others in the medical community for which they serve.
So most patients of these retail clinics are pleased with the care they receive from them, which is why they continue to grow in number under different names, as they have become franchises, yet the concept is new, so only time will tell regarding their popularity with various communities.
The clinics provide a response to the shortage of primary care doctors, and possibly are an answer to other problems that exist in the health care system in the U.S. The clinics are more authentic, and are therefore more beneficial for public health in many different ways.
Dan Abshear
“Follow where reason leads.” — Zeno of Citium
Comment by Dan — June 9, 2008 @ 1:49 pm