One medical industry development that has the potential to solve the use of the ER problem is the "Retail" clinic. CVS and Walmart are two companies that are establishing out patient care programs for individual patients and also for companies wishing to provide health care for employees but not wanting to go the traditional insurance route. In these early stages facillities are being opened in areas where there are doctor shortages or long distances betwen physical sites where people can seek care.
Walmart has opened trial facillities in North Carolina. They are staffed by nurses who use the "best practices" protocal in diagnosing and treating patients and, unlike other trial runs where the clinic is operated by a third party, these facilities are owned and run by Wal-Mart. Clinics are open 12 hours a day on weekdays and 8 hours a day on weekends. Office visits are $40.00 and patients are able to uodate or add onto theeir existing medical record. Employer covered patients may have only a $4.00 co-pay to meet. Clinics accept Medicare patients and, in some locations, will acccept medicaid patients as well.
"The company's move signals yet another shift in healthcare delivery that creates more competition for traditional providers like doctors and hospitals. Public and private health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act mean patients have more control over their own healthcare than ever before," Rob Lazerow, a practice manager with the Health Care Advisory Board, told Forbes Magazine. "This is a very different competitive landscape than what most executives have faced previously--and hospitals risk losing volumes at each decision point," Lazerow said.
That last statement is indicative of the conflicted attitude within the health care industry. While the Affordable Care Act discourages use of Emergency Departments, hospitals are fearful of losing the "not urgent care" patient to retail medical care. So far the general public has not embraced retail medical care but Wal-mart may be just the entity to reach us. Just like when they introduced $4.00 prescriptions and, more recently, starting salaries at higher than minimum wage levels, where Wal-Mart goes, so goes the country.
Walmart has opened trial facillities in North Carolina. They are staffed by nurses who use the "best practices" protocal in diagnosing and treating patients and, unlike other trial runs where the clinic is operated by a third party, these facilities are owned and run by Wal-Mart. Clinics are open 12 hours a day on weekdays and 8 hours a day on weekends. Office visits are $40.00 and patients are able to uodate or add onto theeir existing medical record. Employer covered patients may have only a $4.00 co-pay to meet. Clinics accept Medicare patients and, in some locations, will acccept medicaid patients as well.
"The company's move signals yet another shift in healthcare delivery that creates more competition for traditional providers like doctors and hospitals. Public and private health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act mean patients have more control over their own healthcare than ever before," Rob Lazerow, a practice manager with the Health Care Advisory Board, told Forbes Magazine. "This is a very different competitive landscape than what most executives have faced previously--and hospitals risk losing volumes at each decision point," Lazerow said.
That last statement is indicative of the conflicted attitude within the health care industry. While the Affordable Care Act discourages use of Emergency Departments, hospitals are fearful of losing the "not urgent care" patient to retail medical care. So far the general public has not embraced retail medical care but Wal-mart may be just the entity to reach us. Just like when they introduced $4.00 prescriptions and, more recently, starting salaries at higher than minimum wage levels, where Wal-Mart goes, so goes the country.
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