Luckily I've not experienced any of the excitement that other have documented for this Walgreens, but my experience with this location is limited to the retail health clinic (Take Care Wisconsin, LLC) located in the rear of the store by the pharmacy. Onwards!
Location: 3 out of 5
From my location in the Historic 3rd Ward, it was a less than 20 minute jog to Walgreens, and then back again. The total distance is less than 2 miles, and when you consider the amount of time it would take to drive/bike/jog and their associated resources (like the smaller parking spots, congestion, etc.) jogging turned out to be the easiest option. Several bus routes run within one or two streets of the intersection, so there shouldn't be a huge issue getting there.
Scheduling of appointment/punctuality: 5 out of 5
Retail health clinics that take appointments are a double edged sword. On the one hand, it feels "reassuring" to make an appointment and have a spot in the waiting room by the time you arrive. On the other hand, the reason I usually don't seek out traditional PCPs for health screenings is because of their notorious inability to be on time. Yes, there are several reasons some outside of their control, for their inability to be punctual - but with a standard retail health clinic that takes walk-ins only as the queuing theory, there's no reason to be upset at a wait because you're served based on the order you show up. My appointment process was quick and easy - I scheduled via the Wags site, and was seen within 5 minutes of my appointment time. The APRN did have to come out and explain to someone in the waiting room that because I had made an appointment, she had to see me first.
Quality of care: 4 out of 5
I had to think long and hard about the rating for quality of care. While it's true that retail health clinics aren't the panacea to all primary care issues (NB, they do very poorly at certain fields, like pediatrics or issues that require sustained continuity of care), they ARE able to do some things efficiently like routine vaccines and health screenings (vitals, blood work, some counseling, etc). A little backstory - 2 years ago I was morbidly obese and my evaluation at another one of these clinics in Chicago was definitely a more somber feeling with the APN there (no distinction between APN and APRN, except for the nomenclature based on geography) really trying to convey the fact that my health was in the danger zone. In the last year, I've dropped about 65 pounds, and among other stats, I've dropped my total cholesterol by 30 points, my total cholesterol to good cholesterol ratio is under 2, I've dropped my trigylycerides by HALF, and perhaps most reassuring - my fasting glucose went from official "prediabetes" to well within the "normal" range. As a result, there wasn't as much "counseling" involved with Linda at this location. Instead, it was more of a series of open ended conversations about what I've done, what's inspired me, etc. The final message was something along the lines of, "You've done a really good job of getting your health in shape...there's not much more I can tell you to do but to keep up the good work." So in essence, maybe the 4 out of 5 comes primarily from what people associate as being an "active listener." Linda had to draw some blood...it was not an issue, and it did not hurt, and she didn't have to redo it.
"Intangibles", aka the "Comfort Factor": 3.5 out of 5
With VBP incentives from CMS being partially based on patient satisfaction inclusive of factors like how a clinic look, or how it makes you feel, let me be clear about something here. For those of you who have never been to a retail health clinic, it's not fancy. Likely it will share a waiting room with the pharmacy, and there's not a a hospitalist or staff person that triages you. Instead, you self report the chief complaint into a kiosk, as well as any insurance you may have. The actual exam room at this location was about 12 by 12, and I would describe it as being functional but comfortable.
EMR/EHR integration: 3 out of 5
Take this with another grain of salt...retail health clinics do not have the ability to talk directly with any existing EMR system your PCP may use (Cerner, Epic, NextGen, etc.) but the Take Care Clinic, LLC umbrella is fully integrated, meaning they can pull up your records from any other TCC.
Ease of billing: 4 out of 5
No co-pay up front since for some reason, my insurance doesn't recognize this as a "doctor's office". I think I usually pay about 25$ for these screenings out of pocket, so I really can't complain.
Overall: 4 out of 5
Like I said - I wouldn't use TCC as my health care provider for every situation, but they certainly do a fine job of health assessments including blood panels for cholesterol, fats, and fasting glucose. read more
