It’s all about the cost, forget the physician relationship:
FP Michael J. Morris of Willmar, MN, thinks the insurer’s approach to this issue works against its efforts (and those of other plans) to encourage primary care doctors to manage patients’ overall health. A nurse at a walk-in clinic, he says, isn’t likely to check patients’ cholesterol, make sure they’re up on their immunizations, and talk to them about their weight or their smoking habit. “Those are things that people usually don’t come in for,” Morris says. “You catch them at the same time they’re in for an acute illness, and try to include their healthcare maintenance simultaneously. So one of the main problems with retail clinics is that they fragment the care.”
