Some communities have been more effective at curtailing competition in medicine.
Not surprisingly, there has been a push to get the AMA involved in an effort to bring the hammer down on the clinics. I personally think that the clinics are a good idea, that we will find that they have extended basic health care to a population that was previously unserved because of cost issues. A year or so ago, Wall Street analysts were concerned that Wal-Mart's $6 generic drug plan would have a detrimental effect on the financial results of the traditional drugstores like CVC and Walgreen's. Somewhere on this thread is an article that suggests that the traditional drugstores had not been hurt by Wal-Mart, and that a significant portion of Wal-Mart's generic sales have been made to people who previously could not afford to buy the drugs.
If there any horror stories out there about errors on the part of the mini-clinics, I have not heard them.
Docs want AMA to fight retail clinics
Rival clinics endanger children, other patients, doctors testify at AMA meeting.
By Bruce Japsen
Tribune staff reporter
Published June 24, 2007, 11:17 AM CDT
The American Medical Association should call for a ban of in-store clinics being opened by retail giants like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Walgreen Co., several doctor groups urged at the national medical association group's annual meeting in Chicago today.
Faced with an onslaught of competition that is forecast to bring several thousand retail health clinics to U.S. consumers, AMA members testified that such clinics are endangering patient care, particularly for children.
The doctors say the clinics, largely staffed by advanced-degreed nurses and physicians' assistants, are largely unregulated and therefore put patients' health at risk.
"There is no more urgent issue than this for the AMA," Dr. Kamran Hashemi, a family physician from South Barrington said, urging the organization to push for more regulation of retail clinics. "This issue speaks to what all of us do every day in practice."
If the AMA does nothing, Hashemi said "in five years, the chairs (at the AMA) meeting, will be filled with representatives from Walgreens, Wal-Mart" and other retail outlets.
The AMA meets through Wednesday to set policy for the largest doctor group. The committee discussing retail clinics will weigh Sunday's testimony and bring it before the full 555-member House of Delegates in the next two days at the Chicago Hilton and Towers.
AMA votes on such issues mean it will use its considerable lobbying clout to push for federal laws to increase regulation and slow growth of clinics. At the very least, however, AMA actions could damage the concept in the court of public opinion as doctors urge their patients to stay away from retail clinics.
Given today's outspoken opposition to retail medical clinics, the doctor group is likely to harden its existing policy toward retail clinics by the end of the meeting. Currently, the AMA policy on retail clinics relates largely to certain standards. Already, retailers like Walgreens say they do abide by AMA standards, which call for use of electronic medical records and guidelines for appropriate sanitation and hygiene.
"We would be disappointed if the AMA adopted a policy that is counter to what patients are demanding, which is more accessible and affordable health care that reduces overall costs," said Walgreens spokesman Michael Polzin in a statement this morning. " It would be hard to argue against those principles. The bottom line is, retail clinics are improving health care access and health outcomes while keeping the patient's doctor informed as the patient desires."
Most clinics are open seven days a week, and no appointment is necessary. They treat patients with routine maladies and work under physicians' supervision although doctors usually are not on site. Most treatments are for ailments such as ear and sinus infections, strep throat and athlete's foot.
Most retailers such as Walgreens do not treat patients under 18 months old. But pediatric groups testified at the AMA that that is still too young. One doctor said pediatric care is too complex for nurse practitioners and think retailers should increase the age limit to three years or even older.
bjapsen@tribune.com
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