Best options for urgent medical care

One of your eyes has become red and itchy, and you suspect you have pinkeye. Unfortunately, it’s Saturday and you’ll have to wait until Monday to see your doctor. But there’s another option: a walk-in clinic inside your local drugstore or big-box retailer. Those offer treatment for non-emergency problems at convenient hours, and often minus the wait time and expense of the emergency room. And many insurers cover them.

Can you really get quality medical care at a CVS? Evidence suggests you can, at least across the relatively narrow range of conditions that the clinics treat. In a study published in 2009 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers at the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research institute, eval­uated the care given for three common illnesses—urinary tract infection, sore throat, and ear infection—at a group of clinics inside retail stores in Minnesota.

They found that the level of care was similar at retail clinics, urgent-care centers, and doctor’s offices—but lower at emergency departments.

Our pharmacy buying guide will help you pick the best drugstore for your needs. And learn how to choose a hospital before you need one.

“Retail-store clinics serve a purpose at present,” Marvin M. Lipman, M.D., Consumer Reports’ chief medical adviser since 1967, said. “They have leapt into the void by providing services for run-of-the-mill acute problems at times when patients can’t always get in to see their primary care doctor and emergency rooms are overcrowded.”

Not everyone is a fan of retail-based health care. Here are two of the main drawbacks and what to do about them.

1. They may disrupt 'continuity of care'

Some doctors say they worry that walk-in clinics interfere with what’s known as continuity of care, meaning patients aren’t receiving treatment from the same doctor over time. That may be especially risky if you suffer from a chronic condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure. But about 62 million Americans—including many with insurance—have little or no access to primary care, because they either don’t have a doctor or can’t easily get an appointment when they need one.

What to do: If you go to a retail clinic, make sure it sends a record of the visit to your primary care provider, if you have one. That is supposed to be standard operating procedure at the clinics, but if they don’t ask, bring it up yourself. And our medical advisers caution against using a retail clinic for ongoing, chronic conditions. That’s best done by a provider you see regularly.

2. They may not be the best option for kids

That’s the contention of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which in February 2014 advised parents to stay away from retail clinics because they don’t have complete health records on young patients and the care may be lacking in quality (for example, the clinics’ practitioners may overprescribe antibiotics). But the RAND study found no evidence to support those concerns.

What to do: It’s still best to see your reg­ular pediatrician when you can. But if after-hours appointments aren’t available or you’re away from home, a retail clinic could be a reasonable substitute.

Retail clinics aren’t for emergencies; for those, you still need to call 911 or head to the nearest emergency room. Here’s a comparison of the available quick-care options.

*Represents average amount billed to patient and/or his insurer (plus patient co-pay). Figures are from 2009 Annals of Internal Medicine study.

This article also appeared in the August 2014 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

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