Retail Clinics are Convenient, Reliable, and Kind of Affordable

Aaron and his wife both work. When one of their kids wakes up complaining of a sore throat, they begin a ritual staredown to determine which of them is going to have to wait for the doctor's office to open, call them, wait on hold, schedule an appointment (which will inevitably be in the middle of the day), take off work, pick the kid up from school, wait in the waiting room (surrounded by other sick kids), get seen, get the rapid strep test, find out if the kid is infected, and then take them to the pharmacy or back to school, before returning to work.
Or, one of them could just take the kid to a retail clinic on the way to work/school and be done in 30 minutes.
The undeniable convenience and reliability of retail clinics is the topic of this week's Healthcare Triage.
This was adapted from a column Aaron wrote for the Upshot. Links to sources and further reading can be found there: www.nytimes.com...
John Green -- Executive Producer
Stan Muller -- Director, Producer
Aaron Carroll -- Writer
Mark Olsen -- Graphics
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[@BeautifullyReckles]

A definition of retail clinics would be very helpful. I live in America and I've never heard of the term.

[@helloworldstein]

Its usually a service provided by pharmacies and drug stores where they have a trained and licensed medical doctor who will treat you for small illnesses like cold and flu, allergies, small infections, etc. Nowadays in many big cities in the US, you have services like CityMD which are basically locations with like 10 doctors so you can walk in any time without an appointment for anything from the flu to small injuries to emergencies while an ambulance arrives for example.

[@dannooo548]

+Ron Ramen Like "MinuteClinic"?

[@Eggmanlover]

If you go to a store like Jewel-Osco, they sometimes have clinics where you can get a cold or sore throat treated right there, along with immunizations and whatnot.

[@sarahweiner6924]

Thanks for the explanation! One more question: how is it different from an urgent care?

[@EricRini]

I think when he says "retail clinic" he means urgent care. Pharmacies that can provide routine prescription\vaccination services might count too.

[@MelissaMelodic]

I live in Portland, and my dad works for a company called Zoom Health Care. The idea is a retail clinic, but actual doctors are employed there and all of the techs have full nursing training. The SuperClinic is basically an emergency room, and can handle everything up to about appendicitis. They have scanners and labs, in-house pharmacy, and video conferencing with specialists at other locations including podiatry and orthopedics. Also, the price of everything is listed on the waiting room wall.

[@talllankywhiteboy]

I'm actually a bit confused as to what retail clinics *are*. Are they just businesses with doctors working outside the normal systems? Or do their employees have less training in order to keep down costs?

[@jonathanblackwell42]

When I started watching the video, I assumed it was one of the many Urgent Care (colloquially known here as "Doc In A Box") places that I see around. Once he mentioned those independently, I was (and still am) confused too. Dr. Carroll, answer his question!

[@thatjillgirl]

Yeah I'm confused as well. Is it just another name for urgent care clinics?

[@mattb9774]

Yah its just urgent care (or whatever name they go by) clinics.

[@adamhendrix8235]

Hope to see this question answered. May just be where I'm located, but all we have are private doctor's offices, emergency rooms and the urgent care clinics (aka Doc-In-A-Box.) All of which are usually covered up and a huge time commitment. It looks like places like Walgreens and CVS have small clinics at some of their locations, so maybe that's what he is talking about?

[@Alyenbird]

Heh. My family calls them Doc-in-the-Boxes too.

[@whatthefunction9140]

I called to get a semi urgent visit to my doc. They said he was booked all day couldn't even fit in a phone call. Later ran into him at the golf course at 11 am... The system is broken.

[@TheOysterjam]

i know you're trying to make a joke, but i don't want other people to think you're serious...

[@whatthefunction9140]

Thats no joke! I was doing IT (Networking) at the time, looking for a faulty cable that crossed behind the driving range.

[@Mandragara]

Well they weren't lying, he was fully booked!

[@samc2672]

For those who don't know what a retail clinic is, it's a small doctor's office that's usually within a department store (Walmart, big name pharmacies, etc.). It's like urgent care, but in a smaller space with usually one or two doctors and a nurse around. My local Walmart used to have such a clinic and it was very convenient and affordable, but there's a lack of privacy. Shoppers can see you checking in and sitting in the waiting area, but I suppose it's a small price to pay.

[@DampeS8N]

On last Friday I cut the tip of my pinkie almost off. I went to Patient First, which is also my Primary Care Provider, and got 3 stitches and a tetanus shot inside of 1 hour. I go back Sunday to get them out. Each year I walk in on the weekend after fasting for 12 hours and get a physical and blood work. I have to track a little more myself, but I will never go back to the old way. I wish seeing my dentist was this easy.

[@lordstronghold5802]

It would be lovely if you could explain what retail clinics are to those of us who live outside the USA. We have drop-in clinics all around in Canada but in everyday speech we don't call them "retail clinics."

[@kappyfulliness]

I spent the video thinking "Isn't that a walk-in clinic?" A former family MD was against walk-ins but you really can't compare with the convenience.

[@BeautifullyReckles]

I live in America and I've never heard of retail clinics.

[@lordstronghold5802]

BeautifullyReckles Now we are all justified in being confused lol

[@helloworldstein]

Ill copy paste what I said above: Its usually a service provided by pharmacies and drug stores where they have a trained and licensed medical doctor who will treat you for small illnesses like cold and flu, allergies, small infections, etc. Nowadays in many big cities in the US, you have services like CityMD which are basically locations with like 10 doctors and nurse practitioners so you can walk in any time without an appointment for anything from the flu to small injuries to urgent care to emergencies while an ambulance arrives for example.

[@acalabama1853]

It sounds like what we have here (Montgomery, Alabama) are like the CityMD. For us there are even two competing businesses that keep the care up and wait times down. We have had them here for at least 25 years. I am 35 and when I outgrew my pediatrician, I started going to PriMed. The doctors rotate through locations and often a normal office as well. You can walk in, make an appointment on your way, or make an appointment with a specific doctor. Most of us don't have a "regular" doctor because they aren't open when we need them. And the only people who use the emergency room have no insurance or can't afford to pay their copay at the time. The emergency room costs more but they can't refuse care and you can pay the bill over time. Primed has normal doctors, can do most labwork, and has an xray machine. The notes describe retail clinics differently, but I don't know if these still qualify. They do fulfill the same need for access.

[@zoesaverage]

In my local area in Australia we have a model to combat this out of hours care as well. First there is a phone triage service, they can direct you of what treatment might be needed. Second there are after hours clinic (6pm-9pm) staffed by local General Practitioners (GP's) called GP Access, that take patients by appointment and also taken non-emergency cases as referred by the emergency deptm. There are also GP's that will come to your home (all through the night, sometimes only until midnight). This is all for free. It has been highly effective in reducing costs with ED treatments. Yet the government almost defunded them last year! I have used these services twice and they were a great experience. Quicker than going to the ED or waiting for next day care.

[@collin1000]

Retail clinics are highly cost effective and time effective for me for routine care - TB test, flu shot, strep test, ear infection..... anything outside of the ordinary I try to see my PCP or go to urgent care.

[@ALZulas]

So, my doctor belongs to a group of doctors who all work out of the same office. Everyday some of the doctors are available for their normal doctors visits and a couple of them take walk-ins for not only normal operation hours, but extended hours. I think this is a great service, and I've used it several times, because it not only allows me to go in when my asthma is out of control, but it allows my normal doctor to know that something is wrong because of my visit and I can schedule an appointment with him for later to make sure everything is okay. I wish there were more doctors offices set up this way.

[@OopzyDayzy]

that is a good system. i am someone who doesnt mind seeing a different doctor every time, so that set-up would work great for me.

[@SeriouslyLeslie]

Could you leave the graphics on the screen for a longer period of time? I have a problem with my vision, and I need a few more seconds to read the information on the screen before you take it away. Thanks!

[@jo9285]

My doctor always say's to visit the urgent care clinic before the ER. Since it's difficult to get same day appointments.

[@michaelbingham4328]

John, My doctor has at least 2 weeks wait for an appointment, and he always says to go to the urgent care clinic, as I can walk right in and get seen by a Doctor in 30 minutes or so.

[@secretaltruism4174]

In one of the Q&A videos with John Green, you mentioned that stretching/warming up actually reduced an athlete's performance and that these studies had reached a consensus since 2004. Can you please do an episode on the research? I'd love to hear about the actual study parameters and results.

[@JohanWinqvistTesseract]

What are retail clinics exactly? Sweden is very strict about who can provide care which I guess has something to do with me not knowing.

[@ALZulas]

So, in the US we have hospitals and doctors offices. Hospitals are supposed to be for emergencies and long term stays, while doctors offices are for check ups, preventative care, and long term management for chronic conditions. But doctors offices are open pretty much from 9am-5pm when people are at work and require an appointment that could be weeks out from when you call. Retail clinics are walk-in care where you wait in a waiting room to see someone for minor problems. Often staffed, in my experience, with younger doctors or nurse practitioners who wouldn't normally work on their own.

[@JohanWinqvistTesseract]

Thank you for the explanation. :) Sounds like most of our clinics are a mix of doctors offices and what you call retail clinics, with a nurse sorting out when you call or visit how urgent your care likely is and tries to get you in touch with someone as quickly as possible. Which might be in half an hour if you're lucky. Or several days or even a week or two if you're just trying to schedule a check-up and they have a lot to do.

[@JoneseyBanana]

We have NHS walk-in centres in the UK which sound similar. They're open late and staffed by nurse practitioners and doctors too. I, like most Brits, LOVE the NHS, but it's got to be said that walk-in centres have dire waiting times. I once waited over three hours for some antibiotics for a case of tonsillitis. Actually checking my throat and prescribing antibiotics took just 2-3 minutes. :/ Some supermarkets and other shops have in-house pharmacists though, who can do things like review your medication, help with minor ailments, or administer vaccines. They're usually quick and convenient, but their services are limited.

[@ALZulas]

Your walk-in clinics are similar to our emergency rooms. I once went in while having an asthma attack but was "lower priority" than two other patients, so I just sat there and tried not to move too much or pass out for 3 hours waiting to be seen so I could get a nebulizer treatment.

[@JoneseyBanana]

ALZulas An American emergency room is actually equivalent to our A&E, or Accident & Emergency department. They also tend to have long waiting times because obviously they have to deal with immediately life threatening things first (I've also had a long, long nebuliser wait - I feel you!!). You wouldn't go to A&E with tonsillitis, and you wouldn't go to a walk-in clinic with an acute asthma attack.

[@sion8]

So, what's a retail clinic? I feel that if explained I would come to the conclusion that I may have used one before, however, I've never heard the term before.

[@ecamville2928]

1. What counts as a retail clinic? I'm in the US and have no idea what that is. 2. How about we ACTUALLY ADDRESS the hours then? Because I have definitely gone to urgent care for things like a UTI before because my usual clinic was not available after 5pm and my PCP wasn't available for WEEKS.

[@drelias5436]

Why does is matter whether or not the doc can guess right 50% of the time if they run the test correctly, and administer the right treatment?

[@idnwiw]

So you can't just pop in to your family doctor unannounced in your country?

[@steveh46]

No.

[@cm3655]

Today I learned... Also, you have to go to a third party pharmacy outside to collect your medicine? Over here, you collect it right away at an in-house pharmacy.

[@steveh46]

Some clinics will have in-house pharmacies. Most physician practices will not.

[@sd4dfg2]

Thanks Sam!

[@Donthaveacowbra]

I assume retail clinics are what we in Canada refer to almost as Walk-in clinics? We have a variety of different variations on this. I used to work as a medical assistant to one which offered a family health group approach. I could say a variety of pros and cons to this particular clinic set up. There was certainly an emphasis towards retail/up selling of certain services that I deemed unnecessary, but perhaps with more research into the field I will find this more the rule rather than the exception. However, I will say the use of the clinic as an alternative to emergency was indeed a truth about it. We certainly had cases where people chose us simply based on the walk-in ability. We also had cases in which these individuals should have actually gone to emergency care. The big thing I have taken from this though, is that in this day and age, the lack of inter-connectivity between primary care providers, hospitals, and the pharmacists is abysmal. You will find pockets, but overall it's terrible. Electronic records are a must in this day an age, but what needs to occur is a unified system. It doesn't mean one system, it just means ones that actually are able to talk to each other intelligently. It would reduce instances of medication contraindications, reduce prescription drug abuse, and expedite patient care simply based on it doesn't take you an hour to track down a CT scan a patient got a year ago....

[@avoisin]

I'd love to see a PCP for everything. But if I have to wait 4 weeks to get in, there's no point. By then the strep is probably already gone anyway, and I've suffered for 4 weeks. Although there's some drawbacks around the retail approach, they've become a necessity because the ER is the only other time-sensitive option. At that point, it's not really the fault of the patients for going there for care that would be better directed at a PCP, it's the fault of the PCP and the industry in general for not providing the services that patients require.

[@Alyenbird]

Does ready access to retail clinics affect hospital ER wait times? It seems like it would. Fewer people in the ER with minor issues = less waiting overall.

[@Biggnuncio]

It is too small of a market to have much impact, also they deal with pretty minor stuff most of the time in retail. With things like Obamacare making so many changes which, as he notes in the video, cause an increase in emergency room visits it will be difficult to gauge the exact cause and affect.

[@SaraAnneMiller]

My PCP is always booked a month out, so I have to use a retail clinic to get seen for repeated infections. (I am immunodeficient and on monthly IVIG.) Hell, I see my immunologist more often and more reliably than my PCP.

[@Crystalvampire66]

Are walk in clinic's (what we caere in townll them here) not wide spread in America. We have two here in town

[@ayarel01]

Walk-in clinics are common, but are getting booked full just as much as regular clinics (or at least where I am, in central USA, with a lack of physicians). My town opened three retail clinics, and they've been a real blessing. The longest wait I've had is 30 minutes, and costs $20; the walk-in is a two hour wait on average, and costs $75 (with my insurance plan). So why would I ever go anywhere else for minor, acute problems? I'll still see my regular doctor in clinic for annual exams and chronic care follow-up, but that's about it.

[@Crystalvampire66]

Yeah the two here are nearly impossible to get into. People line up before the door opens

[@NoyzBot]

this is really creepy lol. I woke up yesterday with a sore throat I thought was dehydration but by the night I thought "ah crap it's strep innit?" so I got up and grabbed a ride to the urgent care system with my medical mask on and now I'm here on prednisone and anti-bio wiggling like an upset worm... then I come across this video where you basically say what my day was

[@georgecataloni4720]

If prices are low, of course sales would increase! Why not get your elbow checked out because it "feels funny"? Lol. Lower prices means we all get more service that we want!

[@Biggnuncio]

Yeah. He seems really confused about this. Patients going to get more care are suddenly a bad thing? But he expects when the government is paying for everything that costs will go down even though that means more people getting medical care. Not sure why so many people seem to think that supply and demand doesn't apply to medicine.

[@cbl6520]

That's the beauty of the free market, competition naturally drives down prices and increases quality. :)

[@projotce]

+Joe Lima It would to an extent, true, but I think it's special in that the demand can be a product of very dire need which, when taken care of by the market, makes the consumer lose out by a lot. Not disagreeing so much as seeing from his perspective

[@cbl6520]

3kbote Stop loss and insurance and HSA accounts, problem solved, that's what I have, best thing ever.

[@jenniebeez]

I think in Canada we just call this a walk in clinic? where you can go in an emergency that isn't life threatening but you don't want to book with your normal family dr because it'll take too long to get it an appointment and you need to be seen sooner

[@jenniebeez]

This is of course free which is one of the best things about living in Canada

[@cbl6520]

Payed for through taxes, not free.

[@Kyrator88]

Free at the point of access. Someone is obviously a butthurt little American who thinks nationalized healthcare is the devil.

[@cbl6520]

Or someone is obviously an economically illiterate piece eurotrash who doesn't understand the concept of basic economics and the meaning of the word "free". Secondly, nationalized healthcare is always portrayed as the apotheosis of healthcare quality, yet according to the OECD, the NHS was ranked as being the worst healthcare system in the developed world, while Switzerland whom have no public option and strictly for profit insurance, ranks as having among the best outcomes of any country. Also,retail clinics are an aspect of free market healthcare, something Aaron has convinced the majority of people on this channel that it is something that cannot work, yet he chooses the market choice over the status quo and says its the best thing since sliced bread, pure hypocrisy. www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/nhs-uk-now-has-one-of-the-worst-healthcare-systems-in-the-developed-world-according-to-oecd-report-a6721401.html www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2011/04/29/why-switzerland-has-the-worlds-best-health-care-system/#5f23a60518af

[@The_Lone_Aesir]

for the sudden illnesses why aren't you treating them yourself? is it to ensure objectivity because of your personal bias? i.e they are your own kids so your judgement may be clouded

[@Meloncov]

Exactly, plus there are concerns that a patient might not share embarrassing/incriminating symptoms with a family member. Doctors are strongly discouraged from treating family members unless no other option is available.

[@SaraVossoughi]

What's a retail clinic?

[@JonesNoahT]

People want to use their money more efficiently. Getting more healthcare for less money is definitionally less expensive, even if the gross amount of money (without accounting for the increased healthcare) is greater. Maybe we would want to spend more on healthcare than we currently do if it were less costly in terms of time and other externalities.

[@ktomatchu]

in a healthcare system with finite resources, care cannot be cheap, fast AND effective.

[@Biggnuncio]

Yes it can. Most of the problems we face are due to government interference in the insurance and health care industries which bog down the process and make it more expensive. Remove that and costs will go down, service will improve.

[@cm3655]

Wow $110 is still really expensive for such acute problems...

[@cbl6520]

Compare that with $1500 just to be ADMITTED to an ER to be seen for the same condition and that $110 doesn't sound so bad.

[@loki19191]

So the regular doctors only work on appointment in the US?

[@OopzyDayzy]

a lot of them, yes. but the worst part is that it is unlikely that you can get an appointment in a timely fashion. getting an appointment for within 7 days is like a miracle. usually i find i have to make an appointment a month in advance, at least. maybe someone will cancel, and they can squeeze you in, but generally you just need to keep a journal of the things that are bothering you, and hope none of them worsen before you can get in for your appointment.

[@loki19191]

wow...

[@vickymc9695]

can anyone explain to me why you need the strep test on day one of infection? why not just get some over the counter cough medicine to try first? Then only get the test if kid's not better after a week, to see if they need antibiotics? thanks

[@pixie7349]

Vicky Mc Strep is pretty common and can be a drug resistant bacteria. I don't know about day one but my baby sister's throat swelled up to the point she were have difficulty breathing after my parents just gave her OTC cold/throat medicine and this was only day 2 in the early morning. That wasn't the funnest trip for her and they put her on more medicine and had her stay and be monitored because strep can spread and restrict your airway. So usually we don't go to the doctor unless someone is saying they're throat feels sore and raw. I definitely see your point though especially if the kid is mainly just sniffling, coughing or running a low grade temp. However strep can actually be pretty serious.

[@heikothedwarf]

Aaron, could you do a video on Soylent?

[@kanklez]

Are you no able to just take your kid down to whereever your practice medicine and administer the test yourself? If not why not?

[@Speckledtail96]

In America, doctors are not allowed to practice medicine on their family, because of the risk of bias toward the patient. Doctors are more likely to help family before others.

[@Meloncov]

Doctors are strongly discouraged from treating family members, because it's difficult to make unbiased decisions. They might, for example, be overly-reluctant to prescribe a painful but necessary procedure.

[@FlyingVolvo]

+Speckledtail96 Yes, and for good reason. It is not unreasonable to think the doctor in that case would order more comperhensive tests and offer additonal treatment then necessary than he would on just another patient.

[@thecdnwanderer]

Interestingly, the opposite can happen as well. On some of the Healthcare Triage Live episodes, Dr. Carroll has noted situations where he dismissed his son's symptoms, when it later turned out the situation was quite serious. (His wife no longer allows him to do the assessments for their children.)

[@FitLovejoy]

I'm not American. Please explain what on Earth a "Retail Clinic" is.

[@kaitlin8669]

It is a medical office in Walmart, CVC, or Target.

[@FitLovejoy]

Thanks! That's a completely foreign concept for me... but it actually makes total sense. Much more convenient than traditional doctor's visits.

[@mr88cet]

Obvious question: Can’t you diagnose and treat your own child? Your wife? Yourself?

[@Snakeyes244]

so what is a retail clinic?

[@johnharvey5412]

What's the deal with Aaron's upper lip?

[@teethpaste]

I was staring at it the whole video :x

[@mabailey5938]

His lip is a bit crooked, so is mine. I hate having a crooked smile. Maybe don't point out small facial abnormalities, it's a bit rude.

[@johnharvey5412]

Melisa Bailey I haven't seen this phenomenon in any other video, which leads me to think it's not some disfigurement, but something like a bee sting or recent dental work.

[@mabailey5938]

I notice it in all of his videos. I'm watching the Milk-Industrial Complex video right now and I notice it, maybe because my face is the same way.

[@morganjones4281]

Could you do a bit on Gatorade. A friend of mine thinks that he needs the extra electolytes. His normal diet consists mostly of chips, pizza and soda.

[@GameTesterBootCamp]

"pick the kid up from school" Wait...your kid is sick and you take them to school? Can't potentially infect other kids? Seems...kinda rude...

[@OopzyDayzy]

i keep my kid out when hes sick. i catch a ton of shit from his school for his absences. meanwhile, the sick kids that are sent to school, who got my kid sick in the first place, have shining attendance. the school depends on attendance for their fundage. so that trumps the health of students and staff. its moronic, but its true. better off sending them to school, and they can send them home if they feel its necessary.

[@sparksbet]

Often kids will get sick or sicker during school and call their parents to be picked up before school lets out.

[@elliemccarthy5672]

I went to a Walgreens clinic for terrible ear pain (I was pretty positive I had an ear infection, and was in so much pain I needed some sort of medicine). The nurse practitioner looked in my ear, and said "there is too much wax to see the eardrum, but it seems like an ear infection, so I will give you amoxicillin." I went to my normal Doctor the next day to get the wax out, and she looked in my ear and said "that's not wax... That's the most pus I've ever seen in an ear in 10 years." This required me to get Cypro ear drops in addition to the amoxacillin pills. You would think a nurse could tell the difference between wax and pus. Never going to one of those clinics again, unless I am seeing a real doctor.

[@Biggnuncio]

I have a roommate who is constantly in need of medical help and even when going to a real doctor at a hospital they often get diagnoses wrong. She is dealing with an ear infection now that it took three visits for them to figure out it was fungal instead of viral. She has days worth of anecdotes like this.

[@chronicallymeee]

This entire video is totally confusing me and I can't tell if it's because I'm Canadian or because my office is organized difference or what? First I've never heard of a "retail clinic" Second, I've never gotten a "quick strep test" I don't know what that is. Anytime I was sick as a kid I just went to work with my mum instead of school, or my brothers would each skip half of their day at school to take care of me. I have never gone to a doctor for any type of basic sickness, and I wouldn't go unless I had a high fever in which case I wouldn't be calling my doctor I'd go to the ER. We're encouraged not to go to the doctor's with such concerns in the first place. Third Immunizations are done at school? I don't understand this part. But maybe it's because I can't get vaccinated, so I don't know how it would work for adults. Quick explanation of what system I'm living under. Private health care, including primary physicians is essentially illegal, and we don't pay for any of our basic health services (i.e. doctors visits, emergency care) privately. The clinic that has my primary doctor has multiple M.D.s they have an on call physician at all hours, and if I can't see my GP I can generally see a different one if it's somewhat urgent.

[@michaelduda4071]

Doctors' determination of viral or bacterial infections is "right 50% of the time"-but every resource (no data, unfortunately) says "viral" is the majority cause. So really, an incidence-weighted coin flip would be *better* than a doctor.

[@matthewresigned]

Nice vid

[@gl1500ctv]

...or he can just treat his own kid? He is a pediatrician, right? ;)

[@gl1500ctv]

+Robert Podruzny Yeah, I was sorta joking but aside from having the time to treat his kid personally, why wouldn't he just bring a strep test kit home and check it? I mean he is qualified. We hear "Don't play a doctor at home" all the time, but he is one. I'm guessing he just doesn't want to bring his work home, so to speak.

[@TheOysterjam]

that's a good thing to have a second opinion, since you can tend to "over-diagnose" people close to you. e.g. your kid has a runny nose, and you treat for cancer (a bit exaggerated, but i think you get it)

[@benbarker8154]

Trust me. It doesn't matter what kind of doctor you are. It doesn't matter if you are the top in your field, Mom always takes the kids to a "real doctor". It is best not to fight it.

[@collin1000]

+Stephen Furr He has said in another video that after he mis-diagnosed something with his own kid, he no longer makes medical decisions for his family. it's too hard to not let emotions get the best of you when you're family.

[@Kyrator88]

Da fuq is a retail clinic anyway?

[@cbl6520]

Retail clinics are just what they sound like, a doctors/advanced practitioners office you can stop by without an appointment and get treated for anything ranging from basic check ups, to being prescribed antibiotics. They often list their prices so you know what you are paying ahead of time and tend to be cash only, a check up costs around 60$ at a rediclinic in Texas. It is one of those market solutions Aaron claimed wouldn't work, yet seems to have a preference for over the status quo, maybe government take over of healthcare isn't the solution after all.

[@sarahng5009]

Thanks for defining retail clinics for the non- US viewers. I'm a doctor and I've never heard the term. I mean, I did just google it, and it is what I assumed, but still.

[@sdlock83]

The fact that you're a doctor and you don't even know what a retail clinic is just goes to show how American doctors are so out-of-touch within the healthcare scene.

[@sarahng5009]

@@sdlock83 It’s been five years, I’ve forgotten the results of my Google search and still don’t know what a retail clinic is 😂

[@ShawnPitman]

The free market solved a challenging problem better than legislators could? And cheaper? Blasphemy! Must be an isolated example.

[@Kyrator88]

You mean the free market solved a problem it created. Places with nationalized healthcare systems all have same day appointments (including special appointments after 5pm) and they're seen as the norm unless you want an appointment some time from now for a specific reason. On top of this we have walk-in clinics which are open after hours as well.

[@cbl6520]

The free market didn't create the problem, government interference in the market created this problem. Retail clinics were pretty much how doctors offices functioned before managed care was implemented and the government began placing stringent regulation in place that caused a spike in costs. This is a result of corporatism, not the free market.

[@vitamindubya]

Aren't you a doctor? Can't you check your own kid?

[@AbbeyB77]

It's against physician ethics codes to treat your own family members and he can't prescribe his own children medicine if a strep test is positive. I imagine he's probably better than most parents though at pre-screening his kids for colds versus strep, just like my audiologist sister is good at figuring out why my nephew's ears hurt.

[@Biggnuncio]

He can't do the test. As he said in the video a doctors opinion is only 50% accurate.