July 3, 2007

Letters to the Editor
Chicago Tribune

To the Editor:

For two decades or more, health experts and insurers have stressed the importance of a “medical home” – where patients have a regular doctor who oversees and coordinates their care – in providing quality, cost effective patient care.  Now, in one fell swoop, this core medical value is dismissed by the Tribune and the corporations which stand to profit mightily from “retail” medical care.

Where is the patient’s best interest in this equation?  We don’t think it’s in getting a “quickie” prescription for a cough from a nurse who has never before seen the patient.  In rare instances, that cough could signal a malignancy, something only a full medical work-up would uncover.

If big-box corporations are going to deliver medical care, they should be regulated like doctors and hospitals and identically accountable.  That’s our message, and we stand by it.

Patients, you have a choice.  Our best advice on retail clinics is “buyer beware.”  Instead, find a primary care doctor who meets your needs and your schedule.  Then you can be sure he or she is working for your health, rather than the well being of some corporation’s bottom line.

Sincerely,

Rodney C. Osborn, M.D.
President  

Twenty North Michigan Avenue, Suite 700 Chicago, Illinois 60602 Web site: www.isms.org
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