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CVS Caremark Corp. has opened its first MinuteClinic in Medway,
Massachusetts announcing at the same time its intention of opening 28 other
such clinics there in the coming months. The company has nearly 500 in-store
clinics in 25 other states.
This kind of in-store clinic addresses to people with mild
ailments from allergies to bladder, year, or eye infections.
The Massachusetts Medical Society has long opposed to opening
such a clinic citing patient safety. More exactly, state officials fear that
people coming into such clinics would be misdiagnosed since the personnel here
would be nurse practitioners and not qualified doctors. For the same reason,
they fear that people would not seek a second opinion from a specialist in the
field which could be more reliable than the one given in in-store clinic.
Even Mayor Thomas M. Menino worries that the clinics could
fragment healthcare and compromise quality. But Donna Haugland, MinuteClinic’s
chief nursing officer said there should be more clinics like the one opening
now in Midway.
“I think we need to do whatever we can as a society to make
healthcare as accessible and convenient as possible. We nee to come to where
people are,” she said.
The cost per visit ranges from $59 to $110, plus the cost of lab fees.
Health insurance providers Harvard Pilgrim and Tufts have already signed off on
the clinics. Blue Cross Blue Shield is close to signing off, as well.
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