Comparing Costs and Quality of Care at Retail Clinics With Those of Other Medical Settings
Authors: Richard A. Young
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2010)

Letters16 February 2010Comparing Costs and Quality of Care at Retail Clinics With Those of Other Medical SettingsRichard A. Young, MDRichard A. Young, MDFrom John Peter Smith Family Medicine Residency Program, Fort Worth, TX 76104.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-152-4-201002160-00020 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:The outcomes measured by Mehrotra and colleagues (1) show the fundamental weaknesses of retail clinics. Otitis media and pharyngitis are self-limited conditions whose clinical courses are not substantially altered by medical interventions in most cases. Many physicians in other developed countries do not commonly prescribe antibiotics for otitis media (2, 3) or pharyngitis (4).Many retail clinics display a menu of diagnoses with prices. If a patient truly has one of these conditions, Mehrotra and colleagues successfully showed that the quality of care provided by retail clinics for these conditions is probably reasonable. I have heard stories ...References1. Mehrotra A, Liu H, Adams JL, Wang MC, Lave JR, Thygeson NM, et al. Comparing costs and quality of care at retail clinics with that of other medical settings for 3 common illnesses. Ann Intern Med. 2009;151:321-8. [PMID: 19721020] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Del Mar C, Glasziou P, Hayem M. Are antibiotics indicated as initial treatment for children with acute otitis media? A meta-analysis. BMJ. 1997;314:1526-9. [PMID: 9183201] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Froom J, Culpepper L, Grob P, Bartelds A, Bowers P, Bridges-Webb C, et al. Diagnosis and antibiotic treatment of acute otitis media: report from International Primary Care Network. BMJ. 1990;300:582-6. [PMID: 2108756] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Matthys J, De Meyere M, van Driel ML, De Sutter A. Differences among international pharyngitis guidelines: not just academic. Ann Fam Med. 2007;5:436-43. [PMID: 17893386] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Hofmans-Okkes IM, Lamberts H. The International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC): new applications in research and computer-based patient records in family practice. Fam Pract. 1996;13:294-302. [PMID: 8671139] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Tynan A, Draper DA. Getting What We Pay For: Innovations Lacking in Provider Payment Reform for Chronic Disease Care. Research Brief no. 6. Washington, DC: Center for Studying Health System Change; June 2008. Accessed at www.hschange.com/CONTENT/995/? on 6 January 2010. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Richard A. Young, MDAffiliations: From John Peter Smith Family Medicine Residency Program, Fort Worth, TX 76104.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoComparing Costs and Quality of Care at Retail Clinics With That of Other Medical Settings for 3 Common Illnesses Ateev Mehrotra , Hangsheng Liu , John L. Adams , Margaret C. Wang , Judith R. Lave , N. Marcus Thygeson , Leif I. Solberg , and Elizabeth A. McGlynn Comparing Costs and Quality of Care at Retail Clinics With Those of Other Medical Settings James R. Johnson Comparing Costs and Quality of Care at Retail Clinics With Those of Other Medical Settings Ateev Mehrotra , N. Marcus Thygeson , and Elizabeth A. McGlynn Comparing Costs and Quality of Care at Retail Clinics With Those of Other Medical Settings Rajan Kochar Metrics 16 February 2010Volume 152, Issue 4Page: 266KeywordsAbdominal painAntibioticsChartsConflicts of interestHealth careHealth care qualityInternational Classification of DiseasesOtitis mediaPharyngitis ePublished: 16 February 2010 Issue Published: 16 February 2010 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2010 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...