RAND: Retail Clinics Work
Via Sarah Kliff:
The RAND researchers started by looking at where patients go when they have a new medical problem. Using that metric, they found that visits to retail clinics were associated with fewer trips to the primary care doctor to diagnose a new problem. Those who went to a retail clinic were also less likely to see their primary care doctor going forward…
It didn’t matter whether a patient went to a retail clinic or a primary care doctor; they still got the same amount of preventive care.
I wonder how many of those new medical problems were common colds, sinus infections and the like. I am a big believer in retail clinics, but I also wonder how equipped they are to refer people to appropriate specialists or run further tests if something looks to be amiss.
That said, this is just my general impression and I’ve only ever used them for minor things.
Imagine that: patients making their own decisions rather than allowing themselves to be told what’s best for them!
When retail clinics first began, the medical establishment denigrated them because the clinics were staffed by nurses; and they were not a medical home. Primary care doctors took aim at the new model because they didn’t want to stay open late, open on weekends, and lose the easy cases that took only 10 minutes to resolve. Not long after the trend began in earnest, I read a whitepaper from the Academy of Family Physicians. The paper assured its members “ this train had left the station…” and cannot be stopped. It advised family physicians maybe the best way to compete with retail clinics is to stay open later and open of weekends too!
well a lot of patients go to primary care physicians for common ailments like a cold. most retail clinics are equipped with tools to do things like blood tests and xrays. i think these are great considering they are cheaper and alleviate some pressures on primary care physicians.
Im a big fan of retail clinics and think they should be utilized more!
I’d believe it…I use retail clinics when I have something simple to take care of, like getting a Z-Pak for a sinus infection.
Cindy: that is a very relevant concern. Perhaps a metric on number of references to specialists? Or a comparison between time until diseases are diagnosed.
I’m a big supporter of retail clinics. I’ve used them several times and they are super convenient and of easy access. As Seyyed said, they are equipped to treat or take care of common conditions or basic procedures, aliviating the amount of work left for primary care physicians. This is not only beneficial for doctors, but also for those patients who do indeed need to see a physician immediately for a more severe condition, allowing them to have a relatively easier access to their doctors, if other factors don’t come in the way of course.
Give retail clinics a couple of more years and a few improvements here and there, and they will become the “new thing” in the health care market…if they haven’t yet.
Affordability, accessability, convenience…why would retail clinics not work?
I agree with your conclusions and looking forward to your coming updates. Thanks for sharing