Minute Clinics Open Nation Wide, Provide Additional Healthcare Choices to Consumers

There's a new and growing trend in the health care industry that's making it easier for consumers to access the health care they need. If you needed to see a doctor in the past to evaluate a health issue you might have, you would have had to book an appointment in a doctor's office which can often be a hassle. You'd have to go there at a pre-determined time and then wait a while just to be seen by a doctor. Target, CBS and Wal-Mart are capitalizing on this problem and are now offering another option than going and trying to get into a traditional doctor's office.

These big-box stores are opening what are called "Minute Clinics" and "Take Care" operations in many locations across the country. The premise behind these stores is that you can see a doctor and get almost immediate medical care. The visits start at around $25.00 can provide things such as flu shots, physicals for schools and tests for things such as strep throat. Just about anything you would go to your traditional doctor's clinic for can now be taken care at one of these minute clinics often with a lot less hassle and sometimes for less money.

These clinics are open at the same time as the store's pharmacy, and the companies are hoping that you fill your prescriptions at their store, which in most cases customers do. It's a big win for these big box stores because it increases their pharmaceutical sales and it's a big win for consumers because there's more choices when it comes to some of the more basic health care needs that we all have.

The only concern with some of these services is that there isn't always a doctor present, and instead only general medical professionals such as nurses and nurse practitioners. There's always the possibility that you as a patient could be misdiagnosed, but that's true just about anywhere you go. For the type of health care needs that you would go to a clinic like this for, a misdiagnosis, albeit an extremely rare occurrence, might cause you some un-needed pain or suffering, but it won't be the end of the world.

Minute clinics are a great way for people to get seen by a doctor when their general practitioner isn't available and makes health care available to some some people who could not otherwise afford to see a doctor.