There was an interesting article in the Economist about a month ago. The concept is to make quick visits to the doctor much, much faster than they are now. Rather than wait a week to get an appointment, then another hour at the doctor's office, you swing by one of these 'McClinics' and get a doctor to see you very quickly.
Reasons why I like this service:
-It allows you to quickly see a doctor for minor health problems.
-It is relatively cheap, often charging you half of what a doctors' visit would charge you.
-Many health insurance services are already covering these clinic visits.
-They are becoming widely available, in chain stores (Walmart), pharmacies (CVS), transport hubs (Europe).
-They often use nurse-practitioners instead of doctors. What's the difference? Nurse-practitioners can not only diagnose common minor health problems, but also write prescriptions. That leaves the doctors to deal with the more serious health problems.
It would be nice to see more clinics like this here in Canada, but I need to do more research about why they aren't widely available already.
One of my favourite services in Ontario is Telehealth Ontario. You get to speak to a Registered Nurse (RN) and ask them general health questions, or specific ones to determine if you need to go see a doctor. I've used it on several occasions. I think the Ontario Ministry of Health does a bad job of publicizing the service though, since a lot of people don't even know it exists.
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We love Telehealth Ontario because we have two young kids (2.4 years and 7 months) so instead of running to emergency each time, we call Telehealth.
ReplyDeleteOur family doctor is quite unique. We can get an appointment immediately if necessary and there is a 10 minute wait at most. She's great. There need to be more like her. Not like my old doctor who had 30 people in the wait room and you waited for 2 hours. Hated that.