MyDD :: Prompt Care Clinics Could Save Money on Health Care

Prompt Care Clinics Could Save Money on Health Care

by coonbug, Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 01:51:55 PM EST

I read today that Senator Ted Kennedy's office is working on Barack Obama's universal health care policy. Well, I have an idea to suggest.

One way for Senator Barack Obama and the Democratic Party to help save American's money for their health care, is by making sure that each city has at least one prompt care clinic for patients to go to, for non-major emergency health issues like kids ear aches, rashes, chest colds, sinus infections, cuts, broken fingers or toes, etc...

I'm not sure how it can be forced, but perhaps the Federal government can mandate that States provide such clinics, one per so many thousand residents in each city - if they want to continue receiving federal dollars for Medicaid?

Preferably, one would hope that each hospital in each city would be willing to provide such a clinic(s) - perhaps if they are given something in return?

Larger cities have them. They give a patient a place to go to when they can't get in to see their own doctor. These clinics are open 24/7. They can save the patient time because they won't have to take time off from work to get examined, unless the problem is during work hours of course. It saves the patient money because it's not as costly as taking up time at an emergency center where major illnesses and injuries are handled.

By cutting the amount of patients going to ER every day, American's as a whole save money. As do insurance companies. As do hospitals.

Insurance companies are no longer paying the expensive dollars to take care of minor cases in ER, so the cost of insurance will drop too.

These clinics could either have a doctor or a physician's assistance in charge. As an incentive for a person to work in one of these clinics, perhaps they could be given a discount in their own insurance or perhaps they could be given extra tax breaks.

By the way, these clinics should except any insurance policy a patient has.

I truly believe that providing these clinics (even without doing anything else) could indeed help lower the costs of health care across the nation.

Poll

Votes: 3
Results : Vote Link : Polls

Tags: universal health care, ted kennedy, barack obama (all tags)

Permalink :: 5 Comments :: Post a Comment

Re: Prompt Care Clinics (2.00 / 1)

It's a sad commentary on this site that a diary like this gets no comments. Do we really care about the issues or do we just want to snipe at each other about the primary?

Prompt care facilities are a crucial part of any rational health care reforms. Agreeing on where they are needed and how they are managed will be difficult. Doctors don't want to see competition, especially if those clinics are staffed with PAs and not MDs. The insurance companies might come around on the idea if it looks like it will save them money. We have a shortage of nurses, so staffing the clinics will prove problematic. There are other negatives, as well. There are also a lot of positives.

Clinics like this will not only reduce the load on ERs, they will also make it likely that people will seek help sooner. I don't have insurance and I'd have to be at death's door to go to an ER. I would go to a Prompt Care clinic much sooner, thus catching the problem sooner, which means a huge savings in treatment costs.

What I would really like to see are health screening clinics. There are some private companies that already do health screenings. Most of those are aimed at seniors. It would be highly beneficial if there was someplace to go to get your blood pressure checked, blood tests, and other tests that have proven to help catch health problems in the early stages. People could be encouraged to get checked on a regular basis.

Staffing problems with these clinics could be solved by offering a discount or waiver of student loans to any medical personnel that agreed to a two-year contract when they leave medical school or their internship.

"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good." Samuel Johnson

by MS01 Indie on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 03:32:12 PM EST

Re: Prompt Care Clinics (2.00 / 1)

My regular doctor runs a prompt care clinic. He and a couple of other doctors own and run 3 of these facilities in my small city. They are open every day of the year and in the evernings. They take PPO insurance but most of their customers are uninsured and paying cash. Because they deal with a large immigrant and non-English speaking population, they know that they cannot simply refer patients to specialists or expect them to come back for follow-up care. As a result, they provide some of the best and comprehensive care in town. They can do just about everything. They're the place to go for colds, stiches, routine check-ups, flu shots, x-rays, casts, tests, etc.

The interesting thing about these clinics is about 10 years ago, the doctors sold their practice to a large health care provider. With corporate ownership, the practice suffered financially, failed to provide the same level of services to the community, and the doctors were unhappy that they were no longer making their own decision about what was best for their practice and patients. So, a few years later, the doctors bought their practice and run them privately again.

There are great doctors out there who want to serve their communities, and they don't necessarily need to be given incentives. They just need facilities and a system that lets them really be doctors and and practice medicine without being hampered by a corporation or insurance company that's more concerned with the bottom line than the patient's health.

by LakersFan on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 04:32:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Prompt Care Clinics (none / 0)

Amen.

"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good." Samuel Johnson

by MS01 Indie on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 04:39:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Prompt Care Clinics Could Save Money (none / 0)

I agree MS01 -- I've placed this diary onto three sites, very little input.

It's the rumors and scandals people seem to like the most.

Coonsey's World http://coonsey.wordpress.com/

by coonbug on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 04:19:23 PM EST

Re: Prompt Care Clinics Could Save Money (none / 0)

So true. Somehow this is on the rec list right now. It would be nice to get some more policy discussion going around here.

by LakersFan on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 04:33:54 PM EST
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