Drug store clinics are set to invade Massachusetts. Old-school doctors in Boston are not happy:
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.
I agree with everything said. However, it is unlikely that reimbursement will improve anytime soon. Instead of opposing this, PCPs should work together with these clinics, using them as a source of referrals.
