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.