From the American Academy of Family Practitioners website: AAFP Board Revises Retail Clinic Policy (2/24/10: immediate access)
The AAFP Board of Directors has revised its official policy on retail health clinics to reflect the Academy’s opposition to a growing expansion of scope of services provided by many such clinics. In addition, the Academy has discontinued its practice of entering into formal agreements with retail health clinics that support the AAFP’s desired attributes….
….The four retail health organizations that still hold signed agreements — MinuteClinic, RediClinic, The Little Clinic and BellinHealth Fast Care — have been notified that those agreements will be terminated.
In a letter sent to those companies, the Academy said its decision was not intended to reflect negatively on any retail health clinic company. Rather, it was made after observing the evolution of the retail health clinic model into expanded service lines….
without a trace of irony, the AAFP story continues:
The Academy’s policy urges all retail clinics to abide by the list of desired attributes, which, in addition to a limited scope of clinical services, should include
- evidence-based medicine,
- a team-based approach,
- a system of referrals to physician practices, and
- electronic health records.
Just to take the easiest point to pick off, we’d like a buck for every percentage point by which the share of retail clinics with EHR in place, and used, exceeds the share of AAFP docs with EHR in place, and used. We’d surely be able to buy the house a couple of rounds – and AAFP doctors are leaders in EHR adoption amongst physicians generally.
What we smell in this policy announcement is the acrid odor of fear. Instead of figuring a way to amplify on retail clinics’ simple, fundamental capabilities -take something as basic as routine identifiers information – and using them to their advantage, the AAFP’s public service solution is, to paraphrase a line from onetime Presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, to vote against retail clinics after they voted for them.
That kind of health care reform we don’t need.
Modern Healthcare’s Andis Robeznieks reported the story, too, on Thursday (2/25).