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One thing that the entire country can agree on is that there is a problem with our health-care system. We are on the verge of crisis, (if not already in crisis)considering that over 48 million people are currently un-insured.

I see so much back and forth banter and finger-pointing, yet I don’t see enough people coming together to offer solutions to the problems our country currently faces. The retail clinic industry, of which I am a part of (www.express-clinics.com), offers some solutions.

How do you keep health-care costs down and affordable to the average citizen? By giving them a choice to seek more affordable health-care. And that is exactly what all these CCC’s (convenient care clinics) do.

We all offer affordability as well as convenience due our hours of operation being very flexible. Our company is based in Miami and we have seen more and more since we opened that there is a need for this industry. All of the problems that have been mentioned by the AMA, AAFP and other organizations that are against the CCI are manageable.

There is a solution to every single problem that has been mentioned. What would make the whole process easier? Collaboration. Instead of trying to be so territorial, the AMA should try to collaborate with the CCA (convenient care association, www.convenientcareassociation.org).

I agree that cooperation/collaboration would be better than sniping from the sidelines. That said, I also feel that if retail clinics made a major move in the proactive health management direction, to at least see what kind of markets might be willing and able to pay for health maintenance and improvement, including insurers and employers, rather than focusing on the same sickness care as most of the healthcare system, such clinics would really become part of the bigger solution. A huge part of the crisis is that we are too sick and use to much sickness care, after all. Judging by the Express Clinics website, I gather that improving and preserving patients’ health is not a major focus in your chain of retail clinics. RediClinics are the only chain that I know of that claims a “Stay Well” as well as a “Get Well” emphasis. And even there, I understand, most patients come for sickness care, rather than help in improving their health. It would be nice if more providers strove to become part of reducing the incidence and prevalence of sickness, rather than merely treating it.

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