Even before the time of COVID, urgent care centers (those in the trade call them docs in a box) were the go-to alternative to a long Emergency Department wait or having to see your primary care physician (PCP in the jargon) during your work hours, or in a week or so. I get it; your time is just as valuable as mine. But I wonder if something is lost in patients treating physicians as commodities and physicians treating patients as consumers. A new study looks at how the length of time seeing the same doctor influences your care.
continuity of care
The systematic erosion of continuity of care has financial and personal health costs. This is well-known, especially to health professionals, and it's supported by overwhelming evidence. And yet, it persists.
When business models drive medical systems, low-value care ensues. The concern is compounded by the tremendous growth in urgent-care and retail clinics. These facilities are now contributing to 40 percent of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions.
Obamacare was always about health coverage, not health care. Here's why this matters.