Consumerist
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Hospitals are expanding their growth into supermarkets, says the New York Times. Despite some lingering professional distaste for them among care providers, the clinics ease demand on emergency rooms, and bring in "customers" who will hopefully then go on to use the hospital affiliated with the clinic. Also, you can pick up salad dressing and taco shells while you're there, whereas at a hospital all you can pick up is an extra case of MRSA. [New York Times]
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health care
Walgreen Health Clinics Now Free For Unemployed
Walgreen has announced that if you're willing to provide proof of unemployment and sign a form that says you lost your health benefits along with your job, you and your uninsured family members can receive free treatment at any of their 300+ in-store health clinics. What's covered: "respiratory problems, allergies, infections and skin conditions, among other ailments." What's not: checkups, vaccinations or other injections, and prescriptions. More » -
your health
Walmart To Partner With Hospitals, Open More In-Store Clinics
55% of the people who visit Walmart's in-store clinics don't have health insurance, says the New York Times. More » -
healthcare
American Medical Association Goes After Walmart-Style Retail Clinics
The American Medical Association is going after in-store clinics being opened by retail giants such as Walmart and Walgreens, according to the Chicago Tribune. The AMA is concerned about potential conflicts of interest between the nurse-practitioners who prescribe the drugs and the pharmacists who fill them."Our primary focus is patient safety and patient care, and the retail clinics have a different mission of selling products and prescriptions," said Dr. Rodney Osborn, a Peoria anesthesiologist who is president of the Illinois State Medical Society, an AMA delegation among the most outspoken on scrutiny of retail clinics. "We want these clinics to be accountable."
The AMA says it will advocate for increased regulation of the retail clinics. The clinics usually operate 7 days a week and do not require an appointment. There is usually no doctor on site. Patients are charged about $60, even without health insurance. Some clinics waive a patient's copay, in a move that doctor's say encourages consumers to avoid seeing a physician. More » -
the news
The News Loves Gentrification
• Boomers are going online, expect sharp uptick in alt.sex.shuffleboard postings. [NYT] More »
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