Faber Healthcare Solutions

There has been a recent explosion of walk-in health centers, such as Minute Clinics (recently bought by CVS). These centers charge a flat fee, usually $45-$65, for an appointment-free quick sick check, what Wal-Mart, in its centers, calls a “get well” visit. Such centers are utilized not only by sick adults, but also by parents for sick child visits, even though the centers are almost never staffed by physicians, only nurses and nurse practitioners.

There has been much debate as to the propriety of these centers. Advocates say that it allows patients to obtain quick, high-quality care, and allows them to get back to other important activities in their lives. Detractors voice concerns that these quick visits to non-physicians risk missing more serious conditions.

Additionally, and perhaps amazingly, in a recent survey by MSNBC, 35% of patients who utilize these centers are insured, and came to walk-in health centers instead of their own doctor, even though the centers do not accept their health insurance plan. Surely the wait time, plus the rising amount of copays, have swayed them.

Walk-in centers certainly pose a challenge to the conventional medical practice, particularly in pediatrics. Pediatricians must begin to offer similar services, including quick appointments with little waiting time, at a competitive price. The price is certainly a sticking point: fee-for-service practices cannot subsist on $60 sick visits, certainly not when that price includes a rapid strep test, and providers who participate with managed care have no control over the patient’s copay amount, which may likely approach $40 or $45.

To remain competitive with these services, physicians will have to foster quality relationships with their patients, a relationship that patients not only appreciate but also rely upon, one that patients value over the cost savings of a walk-in health center, as well as provide timely appointments … or their patients will start to walk, and follow their wallets.