July 2, 2008

Letters to the Editor
Chicago Tribune

To the Editor:

Your recent editorial (June 28) touches upon a growing problem in the health care arena: decreasing patient access to medical care.  The Tribune applauds retail health clinics as a new way to increase patient access after doctors’ office hours.  Yes, patient access to medical care is a critical issue. However, quality care and basic public safety must not be sacrificed in the process.  It’s downright dangerous to relegate medical care to the same commercial category as buying shampoo.

Yet, the Tribune lets retail clinics totally off the hook when it comes to meeting basic sanitary standards that protect patient health and public safety (such as a separate waiting room, a dedicated bathroom facility and running water in the clinic exam rooms).  Do we really want patients with contagious illnesses wandering the produce aisle while awaiting a nurse’s page that the clinic can see them now?  Ponder that image the next time you’re shopping for apples at your local retail outlet.

And why should retail health clinics operate unfettered in a store where cigarettes and alcohol are sold?  Imagine the outrage if doctors began selling these in their offices! We’ve spent years working toward smoke-free environments in hospitals, business, restaurants and other establishments – yet in one fell swoop we’re allowing retail establishments to hawk proven cancer-causing agents  just a few short feet away from their wholly-owned medical clinics that treat respiratory ailments.

Let me hasten to add that the Illinois State Medical Society is not attempting to put retail medical clinics out of business.  We are trying to improve these clinics’ operating model so that patients are protected and follow-up communication and care are routinely assured between the clinic and a patient’s primary care doctor.

If retail health clinics truly want to help patients and the public, we think they should already have these practices in place.  Until then, ISMS will energetically continue to pursue legislation that assures a healthy environment and sound medicine in retail clinics.

Sincerely,

Shastri Swaminathan, M.D.
President-Elect, Illinois State Medical Society

Twenty North Michigan Avenue, Suite 700 Chicago, Illinois 60602 Web site: www.isms.org
Telephone: 312-782-1654 Toll Free: 800-782-ISMS Fax: 312-782-2028