CVS MinuteClinic - Worth the Trip

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….

Are hospitals ready for the IT onslaught?

Last night I was in the ER with my folks. My father, 86 years young, was having some shortness of breath. Since he had two angioplasties, he is extra cautious these days when something "doesn't feel quite right," as he puts it. There have been enough times when he was right so no need to take chances now.

While waiting for the test results, we ran out of chit chat about the Patriots (ugh), tennis, my children/their grandchildren (their favorite topic). We were into hour two, and I was bored. I happened to notice a computer in the room. Just for kicks, I clicked on the MSFT Explorer browser. The machine was completely open and I logged onto my Facebook page to show them what that was all about. Bad Davida. But am I the only bad one here?

The nurse came in and told me I should get off the machine. It was hospital property. She was right on that. She also said that there was sensitive information in the system. She was also right on that. I apologized, logged off and took my hand slap. I decided not to bother a busy ER nurse, who was treating my father, with a lecture on HIPAA security and how the hospital should add a layer of password protection for the machines in any of the rooms. I did see that the MedHost application was on the machine.It is great that the hospitals have computers. But have you ever seen a doctor or nurse use one of those machines in an ER room?

I have had my fair share of ER visits between kids and my parents, and not once have I seen a medical professional use a machine in the room vs. near a nurses' station or a private office.Information technology is all well and good, and it will probably be the key to moving healthcare into the black, but healthcare organizations must use IT wisely. And if IT will take an even greater role in healthcare, regulations, such as HIPAA, must be better enforced. Are hospitals ready for IT?