I do believe that if the services are done right, as the previous commenter noted it is the delivery format that matters, then the model for minute clinics should be here to stay. Less overhead if one is sharing space with a drug store, services are available after most traditional offices close, and they are less than urgent care center costs.

The biggest factor in my estimation of success is noting if the consumer knows what services are covered in the minute clinic, and when it is best to use these settings. I often thought that checking kids for otitis, strep throats was often the highest on my scale for getting appointments for toddlers. I have twins and when they were young, it never failed that they would get sick at 5 pm on a Friday, weekend, or a holiday. It’s good to know what are ones options for care.

Perry enthuses about MinuteClinic”s usage stats because he imagines they provide further proof of the systemic impact of account-based health benefits. He does not see, as you clearly do, that it will be the delivery format, rather than primarily the financial cues, that will determine whether the convenient care ”form factor’ succeeds or fails. The financial mechanisms are not unimportant, but they are subsidiary to the effectiveness of the form. If the form delivers unsatisfactory care, it doesn’t matter how someone may pay for it.