A "Minute Clinic" Visit for Your Kids?

Is there a 'minute clinic' in your area? One just opened in mine.

Housed in a CVS pharmacy or Target or Wal-Mart or Albertsons, these are health care dispensaries staffed by nurse practitioners and physician's assistants intended to care for minor, self-limited medical issues (like ear infections, strep throat, skin rashes and vaccinations).

Hmm... Let's see, I'll get some school supplies, milk and, while we are at it, have that pesky rash looked at. "You're sick. We're quick!" is their motto. Apparently there's gold in them thar hills. Consider:

• 25 states already have such clinics.


• No less than Wal-Mart has gotten into the act. They currently have about 75 clinics in 12 states and plan to open thousands more in-store medical clinics in the next 5 years.

Is this good idea? Have you or will you take your kids to a minute clinic?

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Here, as I see it, are the pros and cons. On the positive side:

• Patients can be seen promptly, without an appointment. No muss, no fuss.


• The charge is generally only about $50, much less than an emergency room or primary care doctor's visit.


• Most use electronic medical records so there can be access to previous visits at any site.


• Most parents are capable of distinguishing a minor illness from a potentially more serious one, as are the health professionals who are seeing them.

On the worrisome side:

• The providers don't really know your child. What if there are some complicating medical concerns they should, but don't, know about?


• Sometimes parents underestimate the nature and severity of the symptoms. Will the minute clinic, for example, be able to pick up early and subtle signs of meningitis?


• There is no physician oversight on-site. What happens if the child is too sick to be seen or there is some mysterious complication?


• Care is fragmented. Will your primary care provider ever even know about the multiple diagnosed ear infections?

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Alas, I can't find any good studies assessing the quality and appropriateness of the care delivered at such places. Of course, most of the time, things will go well. Most illnesses are self-limited and kids get better no matter what we do or don't do. It's our dirty little pediatric secret.

The real question is this: how often will the rare, but much more serious illness be missed? And what will be the effect of this further fragmentation of care on the general well-being of our kids?

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You may be surprised to hear I'm not necessarily opposed to minute clinics, as long as there are quality safeguards and oversights in place.

I think parents should have choices when it comes to their child's health care. Lord knows emergencies rooms are often an expensive, endless nightmare. I can see why you might want your child checked out quickly and inexpensively, instead of waiting in my office for an hour, only to be told "it's probably just a virus. Nothing to do." I can see why uninsured families might make use of this service, in lieu of more expensive health care services.

Also. it will be interesting to see how insurance companies deal with minute clinics. Sure, the price is right, but if your child was not sick enough to see a doctor, perhaps she was not sick enough to warrant reimbursable medical care and perhaps these clinics will make it too easy to seek care for trivial complaints and, they may reason, perhaps we shouldn't pay at all. Stay tuned for Blue Cross vs.Wal-Mart battle of the titans on pay per view.

I'm sure some of you are making or will make use of this convenient form of acute health care. On the other hand, some of you may want the comfort of seeing someone who knows your child, someone whom you trust, and someone who is more likely to pick up the unexpected, unusual cause of the symptoms. In such cases, the wait and expense of seeing someone like me will be worth it. It will be (and should be) your call.

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Have any of you used a minute clinic? What was your experience? If not, would you use one for your children? Inquiring minds want to know.

Related Topics:

• WebMD Video: Walk-In Clinics Revealed
• Retail Clinics Catch On in U.S.
• Parents Like Retail Clinics for Kids