Spread of For-profit Medicine May Pose Patient Safety Threat

http://www.aafp.org/news/practice-professional-issues/20141203statelegretail.html

From the article:

North Carolina AFP EVP Greg Griggs, M.P.A., C.A.E., addressed the rapid rise of retail clinics in his state and the changes these clinics have instigated in recent years. The state’s first Minute Clinic opened in the Raleigh area in 2005. At the time, company representatives specified that the range of services the clinic would provide would be narrowly focused on allergies, sinus conditions, strep throat and vaccinations. CVS Corporation (now CVS Health) bought the company in 2006.

In subsequent meetings with the North Carolina AFP, the North Carolina Medical Society and others, Minute Clinic representatives told the groups that the clinics would be staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants and that a physician located no farther than one hour away would serve as medical director for the clinics. The chapter later learned, however, that the organization’s first medical director was licensed to practice in North Carolina but actually lived in Las Vegas.

“That was the first hint that they were not telling us the whole truth,” Griggs said.

Filed under: General Problems