Would You Like Fries With That Throat Culture?

It is amazing to watch markets at work. The health care industry (where I used to hang my hat as an entrepreneur) has been the source of much hand-wringing the past several years due to dramatically increasing costs. Unfortunately, politicians on both sides have been drifting toward the old familiar cries of “Let the Government Save You!” or worse yet, “National Health Care!!”, just as we heard in the 1990s.
Both in the 1990s and today we have seen the power of the market. In the 1990s we saw entrepreneurs create all kinds of amazing solutions that not only made health care more efficient, but most often more effective as well.
Here is today’s latest marvel of the marketplace: health care kiosks. It is a fast, efficient mini-clinic that specializes in common health problems. These kiosks operate out of Target and other retail stores. People were “sick” of sitting and waiting for hours in doctors’ offices, emergency rooms, or urgent care centers for simple health issues. These new clinics are popping up across the country. They go by the names such as MinuteClinic and Quick Care. They are being widely touted by health care plans due to their high patient satisfaction and moderate prices.
These companies reduce overhead through the application of the kiosk model from retailing. They keep their operating costs down by staffing with nurse practitioners, who are fully trained to provide care at this level. Because of their efficiency, health care plans are encouraging their use by offering lower co-pays (often as little as $5).
So next time some politician suggests the need for expanded government intervention into health care, tell ’em to go to a MinuteCare and get a chill pill.
(Thanks to Ben Cunningham for this suggestion).