Retail medical clinics are taking off nationally, with about 400 in drugstores, discount chains, and supermarkets in other states. If Massachusetts officials approve the plan, the CVS medical clinics would be the first store-based clinics in the state .
Company executives said they would open the first clinic in a CVS at 474 Washington St. in Weymouth; they would not disclose the other planned locations.
At MinuteClinics in other states, nurse practitioners and physician assistants typically spend about 15 minutes with a patient. They are trained to treat 20 or so common conditions, such as bladder infections, strep throat, and poison ivy, give pregnancy tests and vaccines, remove stitches, and write prescriptions. The clinics would usually charge $59 a visit, and CVS officials said they are negotiating with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and Tufts Health Plan to cover their members' visits.
Michael Howe, chief executive of MinuteClinic, which CVS bought last year, said the clinics "are one piece of the solution for improving access in the state" and are not intended to replace primary care doctors. "But it can give consumers back something they're looking for -- time," he said. MinuteClinic's slogan is, "You're sick. We're quick!"
The average wait is 20 minutes, Howe said, and MinuteClinics don't require appointments and have evening and weekend hours.
Massachusetts public health officials, who license clinics and must determine if they can operate safely, said they are moving cautiously on the proposal. There has been no organized opposition, but some Massachusetts doctors are concerned about the possible negative impact on patient care. They worry that serious problems will be missed when patients are treated outside their regular physicians' offices, or when they are treated by nurse practitioners and physician assistants without on site supervision from a doctor.
Dr. Allan Goroll, an internist at Massachusetts General Hospital, said the opening of clinics in CVS stores and in Walmarts in other states reflects "the sorry state of primary care in America." He said insurers underpay primary care doctors, leading to a physician shortage. One answer, he said, is more investment by payers in primary care practices.
"We don't need another doc- or nurse-in-the-box practicing in isolated, uncoordinated fashion and burdening practices with requests for information" about patients they are not familiar with, he said in an e-mail.
MinuteClinic now has 145 locations in CVS pharmacies, Targets, and other stores in 18 states. He said the company analyzed demographics and access to care in the Boston market before developing its plan. The region has a large number of families with two working parents, which may indicate a strong need for quick care, Howe said. The retail clinics also can provide extra business for CVS when patients fill prescriptions in the stores and buy other merchandise. |
