Why I Love the Target Medical Clinic

Recently, I begin to feel ill and have moderate fevers, and I thought I was coming down with a simple case of the flu. Not wanting to spend the money on a doctor's visit, I decided to wait it out and treat my flu with over-the-counter medications. After 4 or 5 days, however, I began to suspect that I might not just have the flu and thought it might be a good idea to pay a visit to the doctor. I don't have a primary care physician, and I wanted someplace where I didn't need to have an appointment, so I began to look into some of the "urgent care centers" and "Minute Clinics" in my area. It turns out, the Target store just down the street from my home had a medical clinic right inside, so I decided to go there.

The Target Medical clinic is a small, segregated area inside a Target store that provides treatments for many different common maladies, including colds, flu, and strep throat. As I stated before, you don't need an appointment, and the longest you will probably have to wait to see a doctor or nurse practitioner is about half an hour. The Target Clinic accepts most major health insurance plans, and has a clear fee schedule that you can see in advance for those who are uninsured. The nurse practitioner I saw during my trip to the Target Clinic seemed very knowledgeable and professional. She said she thought I had the flu, but would do a throat culture to be sure it wasn't strep throat. You only have to pay the base price of the doctor's visit the day you go to the Target Clinic; you will receive a bill in the mail for any lab tests that are performed.

Because my initial diagnosis was the flu, I was sent home without any medication. But, within 2 days the results of the throat culture came back positive for strep, so the nurse at the Target Clinic was able to write me a prescription and drop it off at the pharmacy in the same Target store. I was surprised that after a few days of antibiotics, I received a follow up call from the nurse at Target to make sure I was feeling better. In the end, I was very pleased with my trip to the Target Clinic. I received the medical care I needed at a fair price, and without the hassles of getting an appointment in a traditional doctor's office. For more information about Target Clinics, or to find out if the Target store near you has a medical clinic, visit the website listed in the resources section of this article.