In this three-day series that began Sunday, Journal Medical Writer Felice Freyer takes a look at a few new ways to access medical care.
8.1.2006 Offered in 10 states, one-stop clinics at pharmacies promise to fill health-care needs Say you've got a sore throat and you've heard that strep is going around. You're really busy at the office and want a quick answer on your health.
Then imagine you could just stop at the drugstore, where within minutes a nurse practitioner could give you a strep test - and, if it's positive, a prescription for antibiotics. Which you could then buy at the same drugstore.
This third installment in our three-day series considers MinuteClinics, one-stop shopping for sick people, where they can be diagnosed and also get prescriptions filled. For now, the idea is stalled in Rhode Island.
7.31.2006 Open access "Necesita appointment?" Sonia Dasilva mixes Spanish and English as she takes a call in an alcove at the Capitol Hill Health Center in Providence. The phones are ringing steadily during the two-hour call time before the clinic opens.
Dr. John Moran examines Cynthia Barrientos, 7, of Providence, at Capitol Hill Health Center, which adopted open-access scheduling last fall.
7.30.2006 Extra care When Jody Fazzano developed headaches and nausea after hitting her head in a fall, she called her doctor, Lewis R. Weiner. He came to the phone immediately and advised her to go to the emergency room.
'I just could not leave them' After 18 years in practice, Dr. Herman Ayvazyan felt burned out. Paperwork, overwork, insurance hassles -- these had taken the joy out of medicine, a career he chose when he was 12.
Dr. Lewis R. Weiner prepares a flu shot for Sophia Meyersiek in his Providence office. In addition to the basic examinations that are part of a physical, Weiner performs a battery of screening tests.
