Health Care Is Changing

Consider the following; you're pretty sure you have a sinus infection and you're miserable; it's not bad enough for you to pay some ridiculous fee at the ER, if you call your doctor you'll have to wait three weeks, and if you take anymore NyQuil you'll probably end up on a full fledge Robotrip - what are you supposed to do? Well you'll be pleasantly surprised to learn that if you don't already, you will soon have a new option that doesn't include you sitting around with with green goo dripping from your shnoz.

You may not have noticed but our Healthcare system is changing right under our nose.

I recently got back from St. Louis where I had a little visit to a great Midwestern sight - Walgreens. I visited four to be exact but I spent the most time at one in Manchester where I got a check up from a lovely Nurse Practitioner who actually worked in a Clinic right inside Walgreens. Not only did she give me a physical, she also prescribed me some meds.

Although I haven't exactly determined how I think easier access to prescription medications will improve our nation's health, I do think that more providing a network of Nurse Practitioners can help make our country a healthier place live.

Our current healthcare system has some pretty fundamental flaws but I can't help feeling at least a little optimistic about what's on the horizon. During my visit I was impresessed with how quickly I was seen and the quality time I was given when I visited the Walgreens Clinic Nurse Practitioner. Clinics like Walgreens' Take Care Health treat issues like Mono, Lyme Disease and Bladder Infections, offer sports physicals and access to vaccinations like the flu shot, tetanus shots, hepatitis B and a bunch of others. They aren't the solution for everyone, but they do provide solutions to medical issues for a reasonable price. My visit cost $59. They don't take X-rays or blood work and will refer you to Doctor or the ER if they can't handle your ailment and they do take insurance. As I inquired further I learned that these Clinics are popping up quicker than pimples on the face of a fifteen year old, with an estimated 2000 to open by the end of 2008.

I think we're going to start seeing some drastic changes and the democratization of health care looks to be a growing business. It will be interesting to see how we find solutions to provide these services as well as more complex issues to those who don't have insurance and can't afford treatment.