Thursday, February 21, 2008

Get Over It MDs: Wal-Mart Is Good for Your Health

"The medical establishment is opposed to drop-in clinics in Wal-Marts and other retail stores. But self-interested doctors need to get over their archaic ways of doing business," says Dr. Rahul K. Parikh, a member of the American Academy of Family Practice, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, writing in Salon.com:

The medical community needs a second opinion. Retail clinics are good for American healthcare. By giving doctors a run for their money, they force us to do something we don't do well: innovate. At their best, retail clinics can make doctors look like smart entrepreneurs instead of a self-interest group futilely trying to protect archaic ways of doing business.

HT: NCPA


8 Comments:

At 2/21/2008 9:52 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Retail clinics staffed with qualified nurse practitioners or doctors is a great way to ease the strain on overcrowded and overbooked doctor's offices and ER's. When someone has the sniffles and cough going to a Dr's office is a strain and often too time consuming. Basic ailments can easily be addressed in a retail clinic.

 
At 2/21/2008 10:21 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

OT

When Yuan Shanchun became China's first farmer to receive a government subsidy to buy a refrigerator, he was inundated with queries from just about everyone he knew asking how they could get one too.

"Who can believe it? How come the government is giving us money to buy things?" the bubbly 51-year-old asked, speaking in the thick accent of the eastern province of Shandong.

"This is like free food falling from the sky!"

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSPEK26642620080221

Those refrigerators take electricity to run them and raw materials to manufacture them but hey it's better use of the state wealth then buying US bond to subsidize over indebted Americans.

 
At 2/21/2008 12:07 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DX&v=d6

The more the FED cuts the lower she goes
To bailout insolvent banks
that's what golds telling you
I hope that you know.

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=FOREX_XAUUSDO&v=d6

 
At 2/21/2008 2:42 PM, Blogger VH said...

It should come as no surprise that there are several medical associations opposed to the idea of retail clinics. They almost always tend to protect the financial interests of their members over their customers (patients). The retail model seems to me to be a simple cost effective solution for minor health issues; this is a plus for consumers of medical care. Look for further resistance from AMA members trying to protect their monopoly on high medical costs.

 
At 2/21/2008 5:54 PM, Blogger juandos said...

Hey anon @ 10:21 AM, nice story about a China dude and his free fridge.... Just how does that connect with WalMart and their offering of medical care?

Curious minds want to know...

Anyway back to WalMart...

Does anyone know if a doctor is working either part time or full time at a WalMart clinic, will his/her malpractice premiums be covered by WalMart or will the doctors still be responsible for it?

 
At 2/21/2008 6:19 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey, Juandos, what do you think OT means. It means "Off Topic" which is exactly what that guy posted, so shut your pie hole.

 
At 2/22/2008 2:01 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Juandos:
Like anything, they'll bring in the hostilities anytime the complaint makes them afraid.

 
At 2/25/2008 7:38 AM, Blogger juandos said...

The cowardly anon @ 6:19 pm whines: "It means "Off Topic" which is exactly what that guy posted, so shut your pie hole"...

LOL! Well you nozzle, that's reason why I asked, why go off topic?

Note the following: Medical Marts' retail clinics putting doctors inside stores

So far, Las Vegas-based Medical Marts has escaped the scrutiny and criticism of the retail clinics opened by the likes of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Walgreen Co. that are staffed by nurse practitioners. Medical groups such as the American Medical Association say clinics' nurse practitioners should have direct access to a physician and referral systems so patients with severe medical issues can be treated elsewhere.

"Our clinics are as one would find in any newly constructed, state-of-the-art medical facility, generally with three exam rooms, a procedure room, nurses station, reception area, physicians office and washroom," said Dr. Kenneth Richmond, a Wilmette physician and vice president and chief medical officer of Medical Marts. "The reception areas are purposely small, as patients are seen upon arrival. Should the physician be occupied, patients are given a pager, given time to shop, and paged when the physician is ready to see them."

 

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