Traveling Sick: Pharmacies and Clinics Open at US Airports
Cancer survivors know treatment side effects have a way popping up at inconvenient times and places — sometimes even at the airport. So what do you do if you’re stuck at the airline terminal and you suddenly start to feel ill? These days you might not need to leave the airport to get medical assistance.
A growing number of US airports have pharmacies and walk-in health care clinics catering to the medical needs of sick travelers and airline employees.
Retail-based health companies like AeroClinic, AirportMD, Harmony Pharmacy and Solantic (which also operates walk-in clinics at Wal-Mart stores) have started offering a wide variety of medical services to people stuck at the airport including antibiotic injections, prescription refills, and flu shots. Some of the new clinics also provide preventative screenings and more complicated procedures like x-rays when the patient’s schedule permits.
Nurse practitioners typically perform the medical procedures. The clinics accept Medicare and most major insurance plans, but they also offer menu pricing – an unusual feature for doctor and hospital services. For example, Solantic-operated clinics advertise EKGs for $109 and stitches for $169.
Major foreign airports have had similar facilities for years, but retail outlets at domestic airports have traditionally stayed focused on other consumer needs such as food and toiletries. As one patient who was delayed at Newark Liberty International Airport without access to the medication syringes he put in his checked baggage said,
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pharmacy at an airport. But I thought: What a good idea. People are traveling sick all the time.”
Michael D’Souza
Toronto Sales Executive
The Convenient Care Association estimates there are approximately 950 retail health clinics in the US today — mainly at strip malls or major chain stores — with 500 more projected to open by the end of 2008. Industry experts say transportation hubs are an attractive target for future expansion, especially since tighter security measures mean many passengers are spending more time inside the terminal.
The American Medical Association has expressed concerns about the quality of care and possible conflicts of interest in the retail health clinic industry, nevertheless, the trend seems to be gaining momentum.
Harmony Pharmacy has already announced it will open an airport store at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport this September while AeroClinic has plans for a branch at Philadelphia International Airport.
Source: USA Today Article from ABC News
Related Links: Transportation Security Administration; The Assertive Cancer Patient; CNBC
Related Podcast: Cancer Care – Cost, Access and Value from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network
Technorati Tags: mobile cancer care; public health; managing chemotherapy side effects
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