Brian Klepper recently provided Workforce Management readers with a Gawande-like checklist for use in evaluating onsite clinic service providers (13 Questions to Ask On-Site Clinic Vendors, Workforce Management, February 2010; free registration may be required). Brian is both an effective healthcare executive and a thoughtful observer of health management trends, with a knack for guiding readers from concept to action.
He doesn’t disappoint with his 13-point evaluation plan. While it focuses specifically on onsite clinics, astute readers will find it helpful in weighing the role of retail clinics in their organization’s health strategies, too. For instance, his point #2 urges executives to probe how onsite clinicians interact with specialists, noting that facet of clinic practice may have a significant impact on a clinic sponsor’s overall health costs.