Nationally, surveys indicate that about 80 percent of patients have a regular doctor whom they see for treatment or advice. Not this group. Nearly two thirds of retail clinic patients said they didn't have a primary care physician, according to an analysis of 1.35 million patient visits between 2000 and 2007—and they account for 74 percent of total retail clinic visits. Far from disrupting the doctor-patient relationship, "[F]or these patients there is no relationship to disrupt," said researchers at RAND and the University of Pittsburgh, who authored the study.
Retail clinic patients are more likely to be female, on the young side (between 18 and 44), and uninsured than patients who visit either primary care physicians' offices or emergency departments, the study found. It's interesting that a third of retail clinic patients apparently don't have health insurance, compared with a quarter of ER patients and 10 percent of those who visit a primary care physician. With roughly 45 million uninsured, retail clinics may be attracting people who otherwise would end up clogging emergency rooms with nonemergency problems.
Doctors who've fretted that retail clinics will encroach on their business can take comfort: More than 90 percent of visits were for 10 simple conditions such as sinusitis, upper respiratory tract infections, and sore throats. Those conditions made up just 13 percent of adult visits to primary care physicians, 30 percent of pediatric primary care visits, and 12 percent of emergency department visits, according to the study.
These clinics are a great development in the health care market. It also proves that the free-market is a much better problem solver than government if government will just get out of the way. However, the special interest that enjoys the benefits of higher prices will surely fight these positive moves for the health care consumer.
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