I haven’t been sick in a decade. Not like this anyway. It started as a little cold. I can handle that. Then it blossomed into a 101 fever and a bronchial thing that really threw me for a loop. Of course, it was on a weekend. I didn’t want to go to the ER, so I tried the CVS MinuteClinic on Route 135 in Ashland. Very impressive. There is a room near the pharmacy that looks similar to any doctor’s office exam room. I signed in via kiosk and walked right in. There’s something new in the medical profession. A very nice nurse practitioner named Heather greeted me and asked me some questions. She jotted all of the information on her computer, which I learned is a proprietary system.
I was covered under my Tufts health insurance, so I only had to pay my usual co-pay. An ER would have been double the price, and I would have still been waiting.
After she got the basics, she began some tests. First, she swabbed my nose to test for the flu. She then checked for strep, ear infection and other basics. Good news. No flu, no strep and no ear infection, although lots of fluid. That also left her with a decision to make about what I did have. She checked my lungs. Yes, I have junk in there, but when I cough, it breaks up. Another good sign. I was feeling better already.
After some thought, and consulting with another colleague, she decided I had a virus and to take Mucinex plus an inhaler. Mucinex is OTC, but the inhaler with albuterol, would be a prescription. She assured me none of this would break the bank either.
The bill for everything, including my usual co-pay, was $67. Price to not have to wait in the ER or a doctor’s office... priceless.
I got my meds and went home.
It has been four days, and I am feeling much better. I even went to the gym yesterday, which helped my psyche more than anything.
And the other day, I received a card from the CVS MinuteClinic and Heather saying, “I hope you’re feeling better.” Wow.
My point: Good for CVS for doing this. It fills a need and will hopefully relieve some of the stress in the ER. Maybe my case wasn’t extremely complex, but this is the kind of case this place can and should be able to handle. I give it an A. Now, if I could just recover my taste buds….
I was covered under my Tufts health insurance, so I only had to pay my usual co-pay. An ER would have been double the price, and I would have still been waiting.
After she got the basics, she began some tests. First, she swabbed my nose to test for the flu. She then checked for strep, ear infection and other basics. Good news. No flu, no strep and no ear infection, although lots of fluid. That also left her with a decision to make about what I did have. She checked my lungs. Yes, I have junk in there, but when I cough, it breaks up. Another good sign. I was feeling better already.
After some thought, and consulting with another colleague, she decided I had a virus and to take Mucinex plus an inhaler. Mucinex is OTC, but the inhaler with albuterol, would be a prescription. She assured me none of this would break the bank either.
The bill for everything, including my usual co-pay, was $67. Price to not have to wait in the ER or a doctor’s office... priceless.
I got my meds and went home.
It has been four days, and I am feeling much better. I even went to the gym yesterday, which helped my psyche more than anything.
And the other day, I received a card from the CVS MinuteClinic and Heather saying, “I hope you’re feeling better.” Wow.
My point: Good for CVS for doing this. It fills a need and will hopefully relieve some of the stress in the ER. Maybe my case wasn’t extremely complex, but this is the kind of case this place can and should be able to handle. I give it an A. Now, if I could just recover my taste buds….
