Relationships September 6, 2017
CVS really is a one stop shop.
Remember the last time you needed a quick check up to calm your nerves? But your gynecologist was all booked up and the nearest Planned Parenthood is miles away?
Cue momentary panic.
But wait let’s back up a little bit. Did you know you could have visited the CVS MinuteClinic?
Yes, the same place you buy your toothpaste, Band-Aids and chocolate chip cookies offers multiple health care services as well.
Don’t believe us? Here’s what the CVS MinuteClinic can do for you.
According to their website, CVS MinuteClinic offers services for birth control care, birth control injection, HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccines, pregnancy evaluation, urinary tract and bladder infections and yeast infections.
The physician assistants and nurse practitioners at CVS Pharmacy’s retail medical clinic are certified to help patients with quick health services. And thanks to the high demand for these services, CVS Pharmacy implemented extra services for women and CVS customers.
“We’ve worked closely with our collaborating physicians, health system affiliates, and our practitioner team to develop a consistent and thoughtful approach to expand and introduce new services that are within the scope of practice of our nurse practitioners and physician assistants,” Andrew Sussman, M.D., President of CVS MinuteClinic and Executive Vice President and Associate Chief Medical Officer of CVS Health said in a press release.
“We employ evidence-based guidelines in our treatment plans. Having seen more than 30 million visits in 16 years, we hope to continue to bring innovations and convenience to the way health care is delivered today,” he added.
CVS MinuteClinic clinicians are also certified to diagnose and treat sexually transmitted infections.
So the next time you’re scared you have chlamydia and you can’t make a trip to your local provider or Planned Parenthood, stop by a MinuteClinic instead.
Quick answer? No.
The clinicians at CVS will most definitely sit with you and go over your personal needs.
As CVS Pharmacy points out on their website, “MinuteClinic’s nurse practitioners and physician assistants provide high-quality, compassionate care based on patients’ individual needs, specifically focused on times and locations that are convenient for them.”
In some instances, services at the MinuteClinic are cheaper than Planned Parenthood. A birth control injection, for example, can cost up to $250 while it only costs $109 at CVS. You can also make life a little easier by saving your place in line with the CVS Pharmacy app. This is a great way to ditch long waiting times.
And with the MinuteClinic, you have the convenience of seeing a physician on nights and weekends. You can also have your prescription filled on site, which saves you from taking two trips just to get treated for something.
The MinuteClinic isn’t a replacement for your general doctor. Rather, it’s an alternative for those times you really just can’t wait to get checked up. (Of course, however, you should still go to a hospital for life-threatening emergencies.)
At the end of the day, your general doctor is more equipped to understand your medical history better, and retail clinics don’t have the resources to help patients in dire emergencies.
The MinuteClinic is really just there to help you with quick services, such as obtaining birth control, getting vaccines and fighting infections.
And to help streamline the process even more, CVS MinuteClinics can send a summary of your visit to your doctor. This gives your doctor a heads up on any medication you may be taking and what’s currently going on with your health.
The CVS MinuteClinic doesn’t claim to be a replacement for your doctor’s office. But when wait times at your OB-GYN’s office are too long, CVS can help you get better, quicker.
There’s a shortage of primary care physicians in the U.S. CVS helps bridge that gap for women who need safe, accessible and affordable care.
With the fear of Planned Parenthood losing its funding, access to affordable care for women is becoming rarer. CVS’ MinuteClinic alleviates some of that fear. And it’s great because they only plan on growing to continue their mission to deliver quality healthcare.
