Wal-Mart healthcare a convenience

Retail giant may offer on-site, budget medical treatment

SOON YOUR WAL-MART shopping list may include services like strep-throat tests, sports physicals and flu shots.

The retail giant is spreading its vast tentacles in the healthcare industry by opening in-store health clinics offering routine medical services, without the hassle of appointments or proof of insurance.

Clinics are already operating in San Francisco and several Bay Area locations at a cost ranging from $25 to $60 per visit.

A good deal considering a typical doctor’s visit could cost more than $100 and the emergency, where most patients wind up on their first visit to the hospital, could easily cost at least $200 for something like a strep-throat test.

Such costs are not affordable to many, especially students without insurance.

It doesn’t matter what you think about Wal-Mart’s business practices, but the move is a stroke of genius and it’s likely to benefit many people who can’t afford health insurance.

The clinics, staffed by nurse practitioners, will also provide a solution to people who don’t want to be stuck in line with sicker people and provide patients with an alternative to emergency room treatment for minor symptoms.

On average, a visit to the clinics is expected to last less than 30 minutes, with services provided in the evenings and over the weekend.

Obvious casualties of the new concept are doctors who will now be stuck with sicker patients and more complicated cases, which take longer and cost more to treat.

To be competitive, the doctors will have to accommodate patients sooner or hire nurse practitioners to provide similar quick services in their clinics, a highly unlikely move but one that would be a win-win situation for the patients.

The concept has its weaknesses. Shoppers can be infected with diseases if there is an outbreak and a superficial bond between the patient and nurse practitioner could lead to poor service.

Some doctors are also concerned the clinics would provide lower-quality healthcare because they lack qualified physicians on-site.

This, the doctors argue, could lead to misdiagnosis of serious illnesses that present symptoms similar to simple ailments.

While such concerns are valid, patients using the clinics are likely to overlook the risks because of the convenience, a situation that could force our complicated healthcare system to embark on the quest for cheaper medical options for the less privileged.

Health insurers are already taking notice. According to a Wall Street Journal article, some insurers are using incentives to actively encourage patients to visit the clinics to keep costs down.

It may take a while for the clinics to arrive in Fresno, but when they arrive, many will say goodbye to standing in line for things like flu shots.

Fortunately Fresno State students are not in urgent need for the clinics, the health center on campus offers reasonably fast services without requiring appointments or proof of insurance at little or no cost.

But it will be nice to know there is a quick medical alternative in case you fall sick in the evening or over the weekend.

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