Wow, I wasn't ready for Bert to "go postal" on me but if I were on the other side of things I would understand. Your anger about this situation is palpable.
You should be glad Paul is not here. He would go "postal" and "FedEx." I really don't care aobut CCHIT and HIPAA -- sure I have my opinions -- but when it's my bread and butter, yes I get angry.
For the docs it's not good of course but from Wal-Mart's perspective its simply a Walk-In clinic and those exist everywhere. This is not new.
Yes, this is very new. There are walk-in clinics everywhere and, while they may exist only to make money, they are clinics to provide care. They are not there to add to the bottom line. If they don't provide good care, good hours, etc., they will not exist. Capitalism vs Corporatism as Scott says. And, I have never gotten a referral from that type of walk-in care.
It's only new for Wal-Mart and they tend to sell comparable products/services for cheaper. They are just saying that basic sore throats and UTIs are cookbook medicine.
See here, you back me up. IT'S ONLY NEW FOR WALMART... Exactly! And, PLEASE don't tell me that basic sore throats and UTIs are cookbook medicine. They are not. No medicine is cookbook medicine. That's the fun thing about being a PCP. You never know when the basic sore throat is going to be an early retropharyngeal abscess. But, hey, I guess that may be the "severe sore throat." Please tell me how that is legal under E & M coding. And, they DO bill insurance.
That being said, this IS different. It's corporate. All I was trying to say is that is where we are headed. That's absolutely why I didn't do primary care.
And, that is why I am upset. Because it IS different. It is bad medicine. Why is Walmart so different? It isn't because of the mid-levels or Scott who is a D.O. It is because they are taking advantage of a captured audience -- in fact relying on that captured audience. I would be rich if I had 5,000 people a day walking through my office.
WalMart IS doing what I think can be done successfully...take out the middle man which is the crappy insurance companies. The amount of money/time I spend on insurance crap is ridiculous. This is why a lot of PCPs are going to cash only practices.
THIS IS COMPLETELY UNTRUE. Walmart takes ALL major insurance companies. They take co-payments. Self-, out-of-state and out-of-country insurance plans will require payment at the time of service. Understand, that if Walmart collects $1.00 in cash for a Mainecare patient, it is fraud, and Mainecare WILL come down on them. It is COMPLETELY illegal to accept any amount of money from a Medicaid patient in cash if the clinic/office is a Mainecare provider. I don't see the difference between Walmart's pricing structure and mine. My patients can pay cash if they are self-pay or have private insurance. We can bill their insurance company and take their cash. I do know that my patient would never pay $115 for a clean ear. That is outrageous.
