Retail Clinic Route Best Low-Cost Care?
Are doctors' visits getting too expensive for you?
You may want to try out a low-cost option known as a retail health clinic, found in a growing number of pharmacies, as people seek medical treatment on-the-fly.
Staffed by nurse practicitioners, these clinics offer treatment for minor health problems when a patient can't get an appointment or afford to go to a doctor or hospital.
Retail health clinics are available at pharmacies, such as CVS and Walgreens, as well as supermarkets like Kroger and Publix, and may be a way for some to get medical help in the down economy.
But are these clinics are a reliable place for medical care?
"Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez posed that question to CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton.
"The buyer has to be beware," Ashton told "Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez Monday. "The patient has to use the same amount of caution as if looking for a doctor."
Ashton said clinics like these usually offer very basic evaluation and treatment for minor health issues such as urinary tract infections, throat or ear infections, or minor skin infections. These clinics, she said, are meant ot treat minor ailments. For simple issues, she said, the knowledge of a nurse practitioner is satisfactory.
Ashton said charges vary, but can start at $60 -- without tests or medications -- while most doctors visits start at $100. Ashton pointed out that, even during a doctor visit, patients aren't seen by the doctor the entire visit.
Although retail clinics were started on a cash-only basis (and still accept cash), many now accept insurance.
But who should -- and shouldn't -- use them?
Ashton said patients who are generally healthy and don't have a regular physician should use clinics for a minor problem. The clinics may also be a good alternative, she said, for people who are traveling and/or can't get in touch with their regular health care provider.
However, people with one or more chronic medical conditions, those with a complicated medical history, and those who have their own physician, she said, shouldn't use the low-cost clinics.
What should you do when you visit a low-cost retail clinic?
Ashton's recommendations:
1. Know your own medical history.
2. Bring a list of all medications.
3. Get a phone number in case things worsen.
4. Follow-up with your regular provider or arrange follow-up.
Ashton added patients should also get a record of their visit to the clinic to know what tests were done, what medications were recommended, and what type of medical professional saw you. She also suggested retaining a copy of all records.
Ashton said if you want to use a retail clinic, you should weigh the pros and cons.
These clinics are not for everyone, she said. The clinics may even receive financial incentives, she said, to prescribe medications if they are associated with the pharmacy. Also the nurse practitioner may not have the same medical knowledge as a physician.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. You may want to try out a low-cost option known as a retail health clinic, found in a growing number of pharmacies, as people seek medical treatment on-the-fly.
Staffed by nurse practicitioners, these clinics offer treatment for minor health problems when a patient can't get an appointment or afford to go to a doctor or hospital.
Retail health clinics are available at pharmacies, such as CVS and Walgreens, as well as supermarkets like Kroger and Publix, and may be a way for some to get medical help in the down economy.
But are these clinics are a reliable place for medical care?
"Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez posed that question to CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton.
"The buyer has to be beware," Ashton told "Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez Monday. "The patient has to use the same amount of caution as if looking for a doctor."
Ashton said clinics like these usually offer very basic evaluation and treatment for minor health issues such as urinary tract infections, throat or ear infections, or minor skin infections. These clinics, she said, are meant ot treat minor ailments. For simple issues, she said, the knowledge of a nurse practitioner is satisfactory.
Ashton said charges vary, but can start at $60 -- without tests or medications -- while most doctors visits start at $100. Ashton pointed out that, even during a doctor visit, patients aren't seen by the doctor the entire visit.
Although retail clinics were started on a cash-only basis (and still accept cash), many now accept insurance.
But who should -- and shouldn't -- use them?
Ashton said patients who are generally healthy and don't have a regular physician should use clinics for a minor problem. The clinics may also be a good alternative, she said, for people who are traveling and/or can't get in touch with their regular health care provider.
However, people with one or more chronic medical conditions, those with a complicated medical history, and those who have their own physician, she said, shouldn't use the low-cost clinics.
What should you do when you visit a low-cost retail clinic?
Ashton's recommendations:
1. Know your own medical history.
2. Bring a list of all medications.
3. Get a phone number in case things worsen.
4. Follow-up with your regular provider or arrange follow-up.
Ashton added patients should also get a record of their visit to the clinic to know what tests were done, what medications were recommended, and what type of medical professional saw you. She also suggested retaining a copy of all records.
Ashton said if you want to use a retail clinic, you should weigh the pros and cons.
These clinics are not for everyone, she said. The clinics may even receive financial incentives, she said, to prescribe medications if they are associated with the pharmacy. Also the nurse practitioner may not have the same medical knowledge as a physician.
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I'll never know because I will never watch The Early Show
As doctors we have have a approved master's program circulum and have to be give board certification exam and be liscenced by the state to practice. Rules of texas. For maggie and Dr. Ashton I am sending you the links to do your research before you speak on air. As for Dr. ashton we are not only trained in minor aliments but also chronic health problems and we can take care of patients with blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease etc.
I think the least CBS can do is rectify their statements and maggie and Dr Ashton give a public apology for their statments.
Her are links in case Dr. Ashton knowes it all would love to do some research on Nurse Pracitioners. But my guess is she is all high and mighty to admit her mistake or even do research about Nurse practitioner as she is MD ( oh my god a doctor - know it all).
http://aanp.org/NR/rdonlyres/7404DF20-0895-46E1-8EB7-EB01AAF392CA/0/InfoRelease.pdf ( this link tells you that oh the poor nurse practitioners were actually called to the white house to discuss health care...)
http://aanp.org/AANPCMS2/AboutAANP/About+NPs.htm ( this link tells you eveything about the role, education circulum and scope of practice for NP's).
This really makes me think if I want to watch CBS early show from now on.
She says she is a doctor but has she ever practiced medicine? It is so strange that a person puts an MD after their name and suddenly become experts. I have been a nurse for over forty years, am a bord certified FNP and my ethics and professionalism get to be questioned by someone who claims to be a doctor?
CBS and The Early Show need to learn to fact chck. And if they are interested in knowing about nurses they need to talk to nurses.
Or if they wish, I have many stories to tell about unethical, ill trained MDs to have "led" the health care systme into the mess we have today.
I read the transcript of theshow but refuse to waste my time on listening to the video. It makes me wonder how accurate CBS is in it's other reports.
Nurse Practitioners are primary health care providers that are well trained to work within their scope of practice and recognize when to refer their patient to a physician. The information stated by Dr. Ashton was misleading and not a true representation of the role of Nurse Practitioners in healthcare. Needless to say there has always been a tug-of-war between MDs and NPs as many MDs fear that NPs are taking their clients ($$$$) by offering convenient health care services at an affordable price. It was also noteworhy that Dr. Ashton disagreed with the NPs diagnosis during the television interview without ever examining the child, reviewing her health history, or assesing her laboratory findings, all of which the Nurse Practioner would have done before diagnosing her patient. Viruses don't respond to antibiotics and the treatment and nursing care (increasing fluids, rest, monitoring temperature, etc.) that the NP prescribed for her patient was correct. Sometimes patients need to be "nursed back to health" instead of "doctored up" with pills. Perhaps Dr. Ashton would have prescribed antibiotics for the non-existent bacterial infection, thereby decreasing the effectiveness of antibiotics when an actual bacteria caueses an infection. Over prescription of antibiotics by physicians when they are not required is a well known issue that currently threatens medical treatment by creating drug resistant strains of diseases. I'm sure that Dr. Ashton can comment on that fact on her next Early Show interview about physicians overprescribing drugs. Next time CBS if you want to present a story about nursing care and the nursing profession in all of its many facets and settings just interview a Real Nurse (RN). CBS you should set the record straight.