Adam Smith's invisible hand is about to give the U.S. healthcare system a slap in the rear. Check out this post from a very satisfied customer of MinuteClinic, one of the many upstart retail healthcare clinics:
I had my very first MinuteClinic experience last week and it was everything I’d hoped for and dreamed! I suspected that I had a sinus infection and just needed a prescription. I haven’t even begun to navigate my new healthcare plan and don’t have a primary doctor, so after calling around and searching my provider’s website for an hour, i recalled reading about the “quick clinics” in large retailers and wondered if any were in my area . . .. After an easy search, I found a MinuteClinic in a CVS in Bethesda, so I jetted up there after work.
The nurse, Lois Schmidt, was amazing. She was friendly, competent, and I got what I needed. She gave us good info on over-the-counter remedies too.
Lois was also nice enough to answer my barrage of questions about how cool it must be to work at such a place and what her background was and how she liked it. i think it’s a brilliant market idea and wanted to investigate how it was at the people level. My hunch was correct - quality caregivers get to be quality caregivers instead of being buried in and burned out by the system. She gets to do what she’s good at, she gets great administrative help from the mother ship, and it’s overall a pleasant working environment. And for the customer - you get in, get awesome care, and are out in a jiffy. You can also submit your prescription right there at the pharmacy. They take most insurance and have posted visit rates far below the normal rates at doctor’s offices. what more can i say??
The best part is, we got a “get well soon” card from her and MinuteClinic today, personally signed by her, mentioning us both, saying she hoped I was improving. I love Lois.
When MinuteClinic goes public, I’m buying into the IPO.
I think the author's experience with MinuteClinic encapsulates all the good associated with this up and coming healthcare delivery model. This is the future of healthcare--and the not so distant future at that. I believe that this model will reach a tipping point within the next two years. It will interesting to see both how the family practice physician community reacts, after all they have the most to lose. I am also curious as to how long it will take governments to begin regulating such clinics.
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