Walk-in clinics good for minor problems
DEAR DR. K: What do you think of the walkin health clinics that are popping up? Can I use them instead of going to my regular doctor?
(This column is an update of one that ran originally in August 2013.)
DEAR READER: You ask a timely question. More and more Americans are turning to retail health clinics — walk-in medical facilities located in storefronts, pharmacies, grocery stores and retailers. As of late 2015, there were more than 2,000 of them in the United State.
So why are people going to these walk-in clinics? The most obvious reason is that we haven’t trained enough primary care doctors, and the ones we have are very busy. As a result, patients must wait longer for an appointment to see a doctor, even for simple problems.
No one likes to wait. Walk-in clinics typically will see you without an appointment (although you often won’t be seen immediately). Also, walkin clinics frequently are open nights and weekends.
If you’re hurting and your own doctor is not available, retail health clinics have their place. They are most appropriate when you have a simple health condition that needs immediate medical attention — a respiratory or urinary tract infection, for example. But it’s important that your medical record from this visit reaches your primary care doctor, and that often doesn’t happen.
For more complicated or ongoing medical issues, health clinics are not a substitute for a doctor’s office. The doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants in those clinics probably won’t have access to your records. They won’t know what medical conditions you have, the results of your laboratory tests, the medicines you’re on or whether you have drug allergies. They need to know that information to give you good care.
Any time you visit a retail health clinic, get a printed copy of your health record from that visit. Health clinics usually keep good medical records. But it’s up to you to make sure those records get to your primary care doctor.
Walk-in clinics are convenient. However, they often don’t know anything about you and your health. And if your doctor isn’t informed about the care they give you, that’s not good for you or your doctor.