Starting in November, metro Atlantans are able to get treatment for routine medical ailments at the same store where they pick up shampoo and prescriptions.
Eight CVS pharmacy stores opened in-store health clinics run by Minneapolis-based MinuteClinic (company motto: "You're sick. We're quick."). For an average fee of $59, patients can get care from a family nurse practitioner --- without an appointment --- from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.
"This makes health care more accessible," said MinuteClinic Chief Executive Michael Howe. The company is targeting busy consumers, especially working women with children, he said.
"The service will be well-embraced in the Atlanta market because of the busy lifestyle and the heavy concentration of career people there," Howe added. MinuteClinic says the eight clinics in Atlanta will be the first of their kind in the state. But nationally, other retailers, including Wal-Mart, have also begun offering medical clinics.
The clinics are at two CVS locations in Atlanta, plus stores in Chamblee, Kennesaw, Marietta, Norcross, Roswell and Stone Mountain. The privately held company has 50 clinics in six markets. Among common ailments the clinics treat, Howe said, are strep throat, bronchitis, skin rashes, and sinus, ear and bladder infections. The Minute- Clinic sites will also give u shots for $30.
Nurse practitioners cannot prescribe medications in Georgia but can use doctor-approved protocols or guidelines to call in prescriptions. MinuteClinic said its patients can choose the pharmacy.
More serious illnesses are referred to doctors or hospitals. The clinic's purpose is not to become the patient's regular medical "home," the company said.
"MinuteClinic is designed to be a complement to care," said Dr. James Woodburn, chief medical of?cer for the firm. "We're available when the patients can't get in to see their doctor."
The company said it's in the process of working out agreements with major health insurers in Georgia to join their networks, so patients would have to provide only a co-payment for services.
Howe said he envisions MinuteClinic expanding to 500 to 800 clinics in five to 10 years, including some in more rural areas.
- This article is a reprint from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.