Retail Clinics:Affordable, Convenient ER Alternative
"Hospital emergency room (ER) use is both costly and timeconsuming. Often, however, the ER is the only way to reach a physician after hours. As a result, patients overuse emergency rooms: Of the 119 million visits to hospital ERs in a given year, 55% are for nonemergencies. A 2006 survey of California hospitals found that nearly half of ER patients (46%) thought they could have resolved their medical problem with a visit to their primary care physician, but were unable to obtain timely access (see chart above).Increasingly, however, patients have less costly and more convenient options for routine medical needs - retail clinics and urgent-care clinics."
~ "Retail Clinics: Convenient and Affordable Care" by Devon Herrick at NCPA
2 Comments:
I have seen this personally in Tennessee. When TENNCare (a state version of Obamacare) was in place, I knew people who simply chose to go to a hospital ER for ailments such as sore throats and ear aches for their children. There was no difference in the out of pocket cost. A friend who was a physician's assistant split his time between the Hospital ER and the walk-in clinic across the street. Frequently people came to the emergency room for routine care WHILE the walk-in clinic was open and available for much lower cost. When the out of pocket charges are the same, why do people care?
Over the last decade I have been in quite a few ER waiting rooms. A lot of those seeking help seem to need psychological treatment, and many of those were regulars judging by the way they were approached by staff.
Are there convenient and affordable mental health facilities?
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