I was going to send this on or print it out for a friend of mine but the
friend is an M.D. so I figured he would already be aware of it.
Nell
"california_chief" <Fire_Chief@Jamacha_Junction_FD.ca.us> wrote in message
news:um%fi.12246$F32.7853@newsfe21.lga...
AMA Seeks Probe of Retail-Based Health Clinics
Monday, June 25, 2007 1355 PDT
CHICAGO. ILLINOIS -- The American Medical Association wants authorities to
investigate whether quickie retail-based health clinics run by pharmacy
chains pose conflicts of interest that put profits ahead of patient health.
The nation's largest physicians' group on Monday adopted a resolution vowing
to seek an investigation after several AMA doctors complained that the
clinics interfere with the traditional practice of medicine.
The AMA wants state and federal agencies to look into whether pharmacy
chain-owned clinics located in the stores urge patients to get their
prescriptions filled on site, which the AMA maintains would pose a conflict.
It also said that insurance companies should be banned from waiving or
lowering co-payments only for patients who get treatment at store-based
clinics.
A spokesman for Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen Co., which operates 63
clinics in its stores in six states, said customers aren't steered to
Walgreen pharmacies, and are allowed to get prescriptions filled wherever
they choose.
He said the AMA action was misguided and that any investigation would find
no problems.
"If the AMA pushes this agenda, its members may find out that legislators
and constituents have been demanding accessible, affordable and high-quality
health care for years and that's what retail clinics are delivering,"
Walgreen spokesman Michael Polzin said.
Walgreen is expanding its clinics and expects to have 400 by the end of
2008, he said.
The measures adopted at the group's annual policy meeting rejected some
physicians' requests that the AMA oppose the clinics outright.
"If we believe in consumer-driven medicine, if we believe that it is the
responsibility of medicine to respond to the needs of our patients and if
there is a strong consumer demand, then we in fact are going to have to
compete in this arena," said Dr. Peter Carmel, an AMA board member.
There are about 500 retail-based health clinics nationwide, said Michael
Howe, chief executive officer of MinuteClinic, a Minneapolis-based chain of
about 200 clinics in 20 states. It was acquired by CVS Corp. last year.
The clinics typically offer same-day appointments plus weekend and evening
hours for routine health problems, including sore throats and ear
infections. Generally staffed by nurse-practitioners or physician
assistants, the clinics often charge less than traditional doctors' visits.
Howe said the clinics are intended to supplement, not replace, traditional
doctor-patient relationships, and that opposition comes from "the fringe in
the medical community."
Kirsten Harrison, 39, a Minneapolis-area office manager, said she uses the
clinics frequently when her children's doctor is booked up.
"If it's strep throat, I can't wait two days to get them into the
physicians' office," Harrison said. "It's just been so efficient."
___
On the Net:
AMA:
http://www.ama-assn.org 
AMA Seeks Probe of Retail-Based Health Clinics 
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