NC Healthcare Coverage Blog

Have you ever been hesitant to go to one of those small clinics such as the Minute Clinic? Well, according to a new study by the Rand Corp., you have nothing to fear. In fact, they found that walk-in clinics can provide care for ordinary illnesses that is similar to doctors’ offices, hospital emergency rooms and urgent care centers and even costs less. The savings, particularly over emergency rooms, was substantial.

This said, physician groups have lifted up concerns about the quality of care in these retail clinics, pointing to the belief that they may over-prescribe medications because most of them are owned by pharmacy chains. They also brought up the concern about whether they have good follow-up care. However, the Rand study could not find any major differences in these elements between the clinics and other medical areas that were looked at.

This study was published in the September issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. A similar study was also published by Annals revealing that one-third of Americans now live within 10-minutes of this type of clinic.

The comparative study found that these type of clinics are found in retail stores like pharmacies and grocery chains. They don’t require an appointment and are open on weekends and evenings. There is usually not much of a wait, but services are limited to vaccinations and minor conditions. They are normally staffed by physician assistants or nurse practitioners instead of doctors. The study also revealed that most people that take advantage of these clinics are younger, uninsured and not as likely to have a primary care physician.

The cases of 2,100 patients from 2005 to 2006 were examined in the study. These people were treated for routine illnesses such as ear infections, sore throats and urinary tract infections. They were compared with patients who were treated for the same type of conditions at doctor’s offices, ERs and urgent care centers. Claims from a huge Minnesota health plan, allowing enrollees to use retail clinics for more than 5 years, were studied.

The study found that the cost of care in retail clinics was 30 to 40 percent lower than in physician offices and urgent care centers and a whopping 80 percent less than in emergency areas of hospitals. The average cost for laboratory and radiology tests was $15 in a clinic, $33 for a doctor’s office and $113 for an E.R. There was hardly any difference in average costs for prescription drugs.

For quality, care was evaluated using 14 indicators such as tests given, whether antibiotics were prescribed, and if follow-up treatment happened. Overall, the research discovered that the retail clinics had equal or higher scores than other care centers.

The main funder for the study was the California HealthCare Foundation. They were cautious to draw attention to the fact that the results applied only to cases of the three common illnesses surveyed, and they shouldn’t be used to make a common assumption concerning the quality of care and cost of other medical facilities.