Pharmacies to offer care for minor illnesses

[flashl]

Massachusetts residents suffering from a sore throat or bout of poison ivy could soon be stopping by their local pharmacy for a checkup.

New regulations approved by state public health officials recently will allow pharmacies to operate medical clinics for minor health conditions such as colds and ear infections.

CVS Corp. plans to open 50 clinics in its Greater Boston pharmacies during the next three years, and state officials believe medical providers will want to open satellite clinics under the new regulations.

Several medical associations initially objected to CVS' application, but became more supportive as the state Department of Public Health tightened its regulations over care and sanitary details. State officials view the clinics as a way to expand access to care.

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This makes sense, if it is not designed to give pharmaceuticals a means to bypass doctors.

Or is it just a return to commonsense of the good old days?

[Cassandra]

1. Duane Reade is already doing this in NYC.

Not every store but perhaps one per neighborhood (my neighborhood has more than 7 Duane Reades in easy walking distance).

[emilyg]

2. Have one near me in Ga.

[trotsky]

3. Tons of these here in Minnesota.

They're called "Minute Clinics" here. Located in CVS stores, and some grocery stores that have pharmacies. I've used them, I've taken my kids to them, they are PERFECT for those minor maladies that you just don't feel like sitting 2 hours in a doctor's waiting room for. HMOs love 'em since they keep costs down, of course.

[Warpy]

4. Most will use Nurse Practitioners

and they know their stuff. They've had 6 years of medical education and will be able to pick up what needs to be followed by a physician and what can be cured by a round of antibiotics or controlled by a generic blood pressure drug. They'll be able to tell whether or not an injury requires a trip to an urgent care clinic or to the ER for X rays or whether icing for two days followed by heat will be sufficient. They can suture cuts. They'll be about at the level of a 1940s general practitioner, seeing all the routine coughs, colds, bumps, bruises, and lacerations that clog emergency rooms now and keep patients waiting all day to be seen.

To me, this is a sensible thing to do. It will save uninsured people a ton and a half of money. Since there is often a long wait to see a doc even if a person has insurance, my guess is that the fee will be so close to a copay that a lot of insured patients will use the service, too. In addition, it will reduce those long waits at emergency rooms and let the emergency rooms do what they were designed to do: handle emergencies.