PSA: We will not be supporting CVS Minute Clinic with our business anymore.
Today I received a phone call from my mom in TN. My 4-year-old daughter, Sophia, is staying with them for a few weeks since it's summer, and we don't get to see them as much anymore now that we live in FL. Mom informed me that she was pretty positive that Sophia had a UTI (urinary tract infection... and my mom is actually a nurse, sooooo)... Sophia was going to the bathroom frequently, crying and holding herself and saying that it hurt. Since Sophia's doctor is in FL now, Mom took her over to the Minute Clinic in Powell. When it was her turn, Mom informed her of why Sophia was there. The Nurse Practitioner performed a physical examination of my daughter, collected a urine sample (peeing REALLY hurts when you have a UTI) and checked it with a urinalysis. Sophia was found to have a temp of 100' as well as a RAGING UTI, complete with leukocytes, blood, and protein. The Nurse Practitioner then informed Mom that she couldn't treat Sophia because she was "afraid the infection might be in the kidneys." Mom was told to take Sophia to a specific Urgent Care center about 15-20min from the Minute Clinic because they would be able to "do further testing to determine if the infection had in fact gone to the kidneys." My mom took Sophia to the Urgent Care clinic where they performed another urinalysis, sent the urine out for a culture, and treated my daughter with antibiotics.
Unfortunately, my sister-in-law actually worked for Minute Clinic. She informed me that it was against Minute Clinic policy to treat anyone under the age of 12 for a UTI. The Nurse Practitioner at the Powell Minute Clinic had NO INTENTION of treating my daughter's UTI from the moment Sophia signed up to be seen because it is against Minute Clinic policy. There are several of these policies that are placed in a provider notebook at each clinic location. Certain ailments in specific populations are against policy to treat there, but these policies are not public information. The providers are then trained to work up the patient anyway, run any testing that would normally be done for the visit, "refer" the patient to a location where they can be treated, and bill the insurance or patient.
In the case of my daughter, the Urgent Care clinic did not have ultrasound capabilities. They could only perform a urinalysis and send out a culture-the EXACT same thing that Minute Clinic has the ability to do for any patient 12 and older. This Nurse Practitioner, and the Minute Clinic as a whole, delayed treatment for my 4-year-old daughter, wasted our time, and charged us for a service that they did not provide because it is against their policy. This is fraud at best. Medical testing and evaluation without intention to treat. The reason healthcare is so outrageous in this country. I would like to see CVS/Minute Clinic post these guidelines for issues/age factors/genders that cannot be seen and stop making fraudulent insurance claims by performing exams outside of said guidelines. It is predatory, manipulative, and wrong. Needless to say, we will not be supporting CVS/Minute Clinic with our business anymore. read more