Today, I can’t help but wonder about healthcare. It’s a big and booming business. Traditional practices with one or two doctors seem to be a dime a dozen. Hospitals have always existed. However I can’t help but wonder if there is a trend in accessibility, as with all things, in health care too.
Take Minute Clinic www.minuteclinic.com/ for example. Or even Patient First www.patientfirst.com. Totally accessable, quick, and specialized healthcare. Kind of like McDonald’s for the healthcare industry. But is comparing it to McDonald’s fair?
I’m not related to the field, but I have to wonder what kind of quality you can get out of the additional volume places like these get. There’s lots of regulation in healthcare, but does seeing a doctor at one give you the advantage over another?
My take: The number of people and doctors involved in a volumized healthcare practice probably increases the overall quality of an organization. I think there’s got to be some sort of check and balance system that goes on at one of these larger organizations that is not seen at a smaller practice. If a doctor sucks, not only will the 2 receptionists know it, but 12 other doctors and the nursing staff of 60 will too. That doctor will be out of there faster than you can say “bloody knuckles.”
Granted, you might not want to go to Patient First when you’ve cut off two of your fingers, but in the case where you think you might have a fracture of a finger it doesn’t hurt either party to make things a little more quick and convenient. I’m all for the specialists when it’s necessary, but I don’t need to wait an hour to see my PCP (Primary Care Provider) for that tetanus shot when any party will do.
In general though, I think I lack a lot of faith in a PCP. I’ve never seen a PCP and thought, “Wow, this person is really freaking smart.” Most of the time, I can diagnose myself better than any of them could. And all the PCP does is send me to someone else! Argh! How frustrating after all that waiting I find out you can’t xray me? I could have told you that finger might be broken. That’s why I came here.
The entry reminded me of a recent Business Week article I read.
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/economicsunbound/archives/2007/02/health_care_is.html?chan=search
There are advantages to visiting your PCP for routine & semi-emergency situations. Your PCP has immediate access to your cumulative medical history, allergies & drug interactions. A walk-in place wouldn’t have such info. If you have to see a different doctor each time you visit a clinic for a recurring condition you get tired of explaining all the problems. The walk-in clinic does have its place for common & non-life-threatning conditions as it diverts folks aways from emerg. If it is well equipped it can handle most conditions inhouse. The danger of a walk-in place is that you might pickup something extra on your exit that you didn’t have on your arrival. (Nosocomial infections occur in 40% of cases) Measuring health care quality is hard to do as our health care system doesn’t keep track of outcome data. That is, this procedure worked better than that. I agree, for most of my ailments, I usually self-diagnose and then if necessary see the PCP for confirmation and we usually jointly order up the tests. Having a med school nearby does help in looking up stuff.
Oops, I forgot to ask what did you step on or hit what with what.
After my past couple of trips to the emergency room, I’ve lost all faith in ER doctors. Patient First, on the other hand, has been awesome. They’ve been knowledgeable, have actually ordered tests when necessary, and were a heck of a lot friendlier. And they don’t treat me like I’m an idiot. When I had my concussion, the ER doc just poked at my head and told me that I had a bump. No lie – that’s all they told me. And with my hand, they just poked at it and told me that it was bleeding. Silly ER docs.