Medical Care (And Mouthwash Too!) 

You may have heard about the growing trend for pharmacies to offer small medical clinics in their corner stores. Pharmacies like Wal-Mart, Target and CVS have or already have opened in-house clinics that offer a variety of routine screenings without a prescription. Patients can be tested for strep throat or get cholesterol screenings all for between $25 to $65 dollars.

These clinics may also offer other screenings such as blood sugar testing, vaccinations and treatment of minor infections. Most of these clinics will not prescribe medications for chronic conditions that require follow up such as heart conditions or depression. These clinics are typically staffed by nurse practitioners and are open on evenings and weekends. Health care groups like Solantic and Take Care Health Systems LLC lease space in these pharmacies to provide the services.

The idea of in-pharmacy screenings is not a new one. There were a number of smaller, non-chain store pharmacies offering these services before the ‘big boys' caught on. Pharmacies such as Family Pharmacare in Indiana have long been offering similar screening and counseling services to patients. These ‘older' examples of in-pharmacy clinics are typically run by pharmacists and provide ongoing management of chronic conditions like asthma, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and menopause.

In addition to these in-pharmacy clinics, there are clinics in many communities that specialize in managing certain chronic conditions. For example, many communities have anticoagulation clinics. These clinics are usually run by pharmacists or nurses and offer monitoring and management of warfarin (Coumadin) therapy. This is an ideal arrangement for the doctor and the patient. Warfarin is a highly potent ‘blood thinner' that needs to be closely monitored. The clinic provides the monitoring and dosing on a daily basis, if needed. This can rarely be accomplished in a busy physician's office.

Many communities also have heart failure clinics. These clinics are also often run by pharmacists or nurses. They provide a focused approach to managing the symptoms of heart failure.  Again, the clinic is able to see the patient more often than the typical physician's office. This allows the patient to work closely with the clinic staff to manage heart failure symptoms which can change drastically from day to day.

Many insurance companies are embracing these types of clinics. More and more are paying for these services and encouraging patients to go to a ‘Minute Clinic' rather than the physician's office if they can. They recognize the cost savings and convenience of this type of arrangement.

All in all, these clinics seem to be a win-win arrangement for everyone.  Improving access to these types of services further empowers patients to take an active part in their medical care. The pharmacy is an ideal place to provide these services. Pharmacists and nurse practitioners located in house can answer questions about medications and provide counseling on screening results. Patients are then armed with data they can take back to their primary care physician for discussion and treatment.