In my campaign last year, I mentioned the idea of allowing health care to be
provided in lower cost settings — as a strategy to lower health care
costs.
Following through on this issue, I testifed today in support of new
regulations that would allow the introduction of limited service clinics —
a concept which has worked well in other states. CVS is seeking to
introduce “minute clinics” that would allow people to get quick convenient
care for certain routine ailments that might otherwise require a doctor
visit. These clinics focus on a limited set of common conditions for which
there are very good diagnostic tests and very effective defined treatment
responses — for example, strep throat, for which there is highly reliable
rapid test and a well known list of effective prescription medicine options.
These clinics would be staffed by nurses with the authority to write
prescriptions. Nurses tend to support the idea while doctors tend to oppose
it.
Hopefully, these new regulations will allow the expansion of new health care
products by next year some time. It will be up to the Governor’s Public
Health Council to make a final decision on the regulations.