Stitcher
08-04-2008, 11:29 PM
Wise To Use Pharmacy Walk-In Clinics?
They're Convenient, Inexpensive And Growing, But Should You Get Treated At One?
Comments 6
NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2008
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/02/earlyshow/health/main4316686.shtml
CBS) Most national drugstore chains are opening their own "walk-in" clinics, designed to diagnose and treat minor ailments, offer vaccinations, and prescribe and dispense some medications.
They're convenient, comparatively inexpensive -- and they're number is growing in a hurry.
According to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, there were just 250 such clinics nationwide in 2006. By the end of last year, there were more than 800. And it's projected that there will be more than 5,000 by the end of the decade.
But are they what the doctor ordered?
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, chairman of the Bioethics Department at the National Institutes of Health, examined them on The Early Show Saturday.
We used to schedule appointments with the doctor for everything from immunizations to serious illnesses. But the reality today is that a doctor's office visit can be expensive and difficult to book. With so many people without health insurance, and time at a premium, the pharmacy chains are offering the clinics as a way to fill the gap.
The clinics are usually staffed by nurse-practitioners, though more and more are being staffed by doctors.
No appointments are necessary, and most have late hours.
In a survey by Deloitte, 34 percent of consumers say they'd use a walk-in clinic, and 16 percent say they already have.
What's more, many insurance companies are now covering visits to those clinics, with much lower co-pays than they charge for visits to a doctor's office. And with a growing number of Americans living without health insurance, prices, which range from about $59 to roughly $95 for visits and preliminary exams, the clinics may be becoming a viable alternative for people in need of quick, simple treatments.
Dr. Emanuel's take on them, as told to CBS News:
READ article (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/02/earlyshow/health/main4316686.shtml)
Comments [ + Post Your Own (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/02/earlyshow/health/main4316686.shtml#Post) ]
They're Convenient, Inexpensive And Growing, But Should You Get Treated At One?
Comments 6
NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2008
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/02/earlyshow/health/main4316686.shtml
CBS) Most national drugstore chains are opening their own "walk-in" clinics, designed to diagnose and treat minor ailments, offer vaccinations, and prescribe and dispense some medications.
They're convenient, comparatively inexpensive -- and they're number is growing in a hurry.
According to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, there were just 250 such clinics nationwide in 2006. By the end of last year, there were more than 800. And it's projected that there will be more than 5,000 by the end of the decade.
But are they what the doctor ordered?
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, chairman of the Bioethics Department at the National Institutes of Health, examined them on The Early Show Saturday.
We used to schedule appointments with the doctor for everything from immunizations to serious illnesses. But the reality today is that a doctor's office visit can be expensive and difficult to book. With so many people without health insurance, and time at a premium, the pharmacy chains are offering the clinics as a way to fill the gap.
The clinics are usually staffed by nurse-practitioners, though more and more are being staffed by doctors.
No appointments are necessary, and most have late hours.
In a survey by Deloitte, 34 percent of consumers say they'd use a walk-in clinic, and 16 percent say they already have.
What's more, many insurance companies are now covering visits to those clinics, with much lower co-pays than they charge for visits to a doctor's office. And with a growing number of Americans living without health insurance, prices, which range from about $59 to roughly $95 for visits and preliminary exams, the clinics may be becoming a viable alternative for people in need of quick, simple treatments.
Dr. Emanuel's take on them, as told to CBS News:
READ article (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/02/earlyshow/health/main4316686.shtml)
Comments [ + Post Your Own (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/02/earlyshow/health/main4316686.shtml#Post) ]