WhiteSites Blog
WhiteSites Blog
Tonight I went to the CVS Minute Clinic to get diagnosed for my sinus infection, and to get my prescription filled. This article is to share my experiences with Minute Clinic.
Please Scroll to bottom of article, for updates on most recent transaction wtih minute clinic.
Back in mid December 2011, I got a sinus infection. We have a toddler and he has been bringing home all sorts of new germs from the outside world. Considering that I rarely leave my house ( self employed computer programmer ), I have been fortunate to not encounter all the newest and greatest viruses and bacteria that the world has to offer. Anyway it was one of the worst colds I have ever had. To the point that I was bed ridden for a good couple days, plus yellow and green snot, and dry cough for 3 weeks after that. Keep in mind that even though I considered going to see a Doctor, I didn't feel like paying a copay for both the visit and the prescriptions. So basically I let nature take its course and felt 100% after about 3 weeks.
Then about 3 days ago, I noticed I had a sore throat before going to bed. The next day I was blowing green and yellow snot. So I naturally tried to do what i could. Taking about 8,000 MG of Vitamin C over that day. Then before bed I used a saline solution nasal rinse to clear out any crap. I also used some nasal spray to open up my nasal passages so I could breathe through my nose as I slept. The next morning I awoke at about 8 AM with extreme sinus pressure and the worst headache of my life. Keep in mind I rarely get headaches. It was so bad that it didn't matter what I did, Stand up, lay down, all I could feel was the severe pressure in my head, very painful. It was so painful I vomited once ( on an empty stomach ). That provided little relief. I manged to get a couple bits of oatmeal down, and then laid in bed for a couple hours. Eventually the headache lessened to the point that I could try to sleep off the worst of this cold.
I woke up at 3PM with my head feeling clear. I stood up and felt much better. However, just because I felt good now, didn't mean I would feel good the next morning. So instead of procrastinating a doctors visit I asked my wife to make an appointment for me. She said the doctors office wouldn't be able to get me in until Monday ( 3 days away ). She suggested I try the CVS Minute Clinic.
For those of you who have never heard of CVS Minute Clinic, its basically a small doctors office that is available on site at some CVS stores. These Minute Clinics typically are staffed by 1 - 2 Doctors or Nurse Practitioners. The location I visited on 518 and Pearland Parkway in Pearland TX, had 1 Nurse Practitioner working.
The Minute Clinic I visited had 2 Doctors offices plus a kiosk that you used to signup to see one of the Healthcare Professionals. It's actually very well thought out. A touch screen computer allows you to type in some basic information, ( name, address, phone, email, ect ), then it tells you where you stand in line. When I visited the Minute Clinic there was no wait and within 5 minutes of doing the Kiosk check in, the healthcare professional opened their door and greeted me in. I was signing in on a Friday at about 7PM. This was by far the fastest wait time I have every experienced with any Doctors visit!
Greeting screen. Tells you that the cost of your visit will be $79 - $89. They also take most Health Insurance. I am with Cigna. The Minute Clinics in our area accept Cigna. So the my out of pocket cost was only my copay.
The Kiosk allows you to signup for a visit with a Healthcare Professional. After you are done signing up, a list of the current people waiting is displayed. Lucky me! I was the only person waiting.
I was promptly greeted by a Nurse Practitioner that was working that night. I took a seat and explained to her my symptoms. She did a standard check of vitals. After a few questions she agreed that I had a severe Sinus infection and recommended Antibiotics. Then she continued to fill out more information on the computer. After about 10 minutes I was done. She transferred my prescription directly to the CVS pharmacy ( same location ), and within 5 minutes I had my prescription and was on my way home.
I arrived at CVS ( not scheduled ), signed up for a visit with a Healthcare Professional, had my visit with the Healthcare Professional, walked 20 feet to the pharmacy department to confirm my prescriptions, picked up my prescriptions and was out the door. This all happened in 25 minutes. This was the fastest and most efficient healthcare experience I have ever had. The price of the visit was clearly stated on the kiosk before giving any information. Plus the pricing $79 - $89 was also displayed on their website.
Now ask yourself this. When was the last time you had a doctors appointment that you actually got to see your doctor at the scheduled appointment time? How long did it take the Healthcare Professional to make it to your exam room? Did the Healthcare Clinic proudly state the price of their service on their website or in their lobby? Did they have their own on site pharmacy?
Your answers to all the above questions are most likely NO or NEVER.
In my experience a typical Doctors visit involves you making an appointment that is not the same day. You arrive at the Clinic at the Scheduled time, and have to wait in the lobby for a good 30 minutes before a nurse takes you back to an exam room. Once in the exam room you wait another 15 - 30 minutes for the doctor to make their way. The doctor walks in with smile on their face and begins with small talk while they fumble through your chart looking for your name, and any information that will allow them to quickly diagnose you and send you on your way. If they do write you a prescription, it's for something that is so weak that you are likely to return for something stronger ( another billable visit ). The doctor's nurse then allegedly faxes your prescription to the pharmacy that you use. However after driving across town, you find that the pharmacy has not yet been notified about your prescription. So you call the doctors office and they finally fax in your information. Then the pharmacy tells you it will be ready in an hour or longer. Rather than wasting gas and driving home you wait at the pharmacy. They know you are waiting, but still that doesn't speed things up. An hour later you finally get your prescription and are on your way home. In this typical doctors visit you spent half your day in waiting rooms or your car. The true cost of your visits will be discovered 3 months later when your Health Insurance sends you a statement. At this point you see how much that Doctor really charges for care, and it often is 3x what CVS charges.
In my opinion CVS Minute Clinic, is setting the standard for quality medical care. Their prices are transparent, and less than everyone else. Wait times are minimal. No appointment needed. No paper forms to fill out. Everything is digital. They are open til 7:30 PM weekdays. Plus the convenience of being able to see a Healthcare Professional and fill you prescription all at the same building saved me time. I am now I huge fan of the Minute Clinics. Granted they are not for major things like Broken arms, or gunshot wounds. But if you have a sinus infection or something that just needs diagnosis for a prescription, its perfect.
I have been to the cvs on pearland parkway and 518 in pearland, and have had good service. It is definitely faster than any doctors office that I have been too. Thanks Cvs.
I don't normally comment but my experience with the minute clinic at Kuykendal and Rayford was horrible. I had been sick for almost 10 days and coughing up some pretty nasty stuff. It was a holiday and so my options were limited but had I known how I would be treated, I would not have wasted my money. I too was refused antibiotics even though I had been diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection. There was only one person in front of me but it took overt 30 minutes to see anyone. Once I got in, the so-called health care professional fed information into a computer (took about 45 minutes) and allowed the system to tell them what I should be prescribed. Their presence was virtually unnecessary, as they did not listen to anything I had to say regarding my history of pneumonia and how a former doctor had instructed me to get antibiotics when faced with these circumstances. They told me upon exit that if my symptoms persisted for another 14 days I should go to the ER for a chest X-ray and get antibiotics from them. With people dieing in this area from pneumonia complications I felt their prognosis was irresponsible and insensitive. I would warn others to never use their service and I plan to report my experience to anyone that will listen.
CVS is a very aggressive corporation and they are always getting sued by their employees and the district attorneys office around the United States. They are trying to put the community doctors out of business using their money and influence.
Reading most of these complaints I would say that thier staff of Nurse Practitioners are new graduates or they are not familiar with the medical setting or environment of their job duties. The AMA is looking hard at these stores as they are only interested in making money for their stock holders.
Do like the rest of the people on this blog... Find a real doctor's office and don't waste your time....
Paul......we all know you work for cvs.....give it a Damn rest..
Terry, If I worked for CVS, I would delete all the negative comments, then fill the thread with dozens of positive comments from fake people. Most readers would never know the difference. But as you can see thats not what I have done. I had a good experience at the Minute Clinic close to my home. I can't vouch for the other locations. All I can do is ask people to be specific. If their clinic sucks, people need to know.
I visited a Minute Clinic in TN and had a positive experience. The Nurse Practitioner was experienced and competent. I did not walk out with an antibiotic, as I wanted; but I understand from doing my own investigation that a HUGE problem right now is drug resistant germs. Antibiotics have been so over prescribed that the germs out there have learned how to protect themselves so then a more powerful antibiotic is needed to kill them and you can see how that vicious cycle goes on and on until eventually we won't have an antibiotic that works. Minute Clinic is sticking their necks out trying to follow what they call 'evidence-based' practice and that states that an antibiotic is NOT to be given, for the most part (there are always exceptions) when a person is presenting just a few days into their illness - ie. sinus symtpoms, coughing up some stuff, etc. The big thing to remember is that this is a clinic for the basics. If you have a recurrent or worsening condition and need or want MD evaluation, then go there.
Do not waste time and money by visiting a minute clinic. The minute clinic its ony an expensive referral service, where you will be handed a referral list, and charged an exorbitant fee apart from being miss/diagnosed
On August 4, 2014 I visited the minute clinic, the nurse took blood pressure, my temperature, requested information, filled up a form, miss/diagnosed and referred me to a Dr. at a later date I received a bill in the amount of $99. I contacted the minute clinic regarding the "referral fee" and was told the visit was not "free" I argued that I was being charge for a referral fee, instead I should have find a competent Dr. by using the yellow pages. I explained that the fee was outrageous for only a referral and was told I must pay. I explained that I am a senior citizen in a fixed income, requested a reduction fee for the referral given and was told there were no waivers or reductions and that I must pay the bill!!! a new way to do business total disregard for a sick human being.
BEWARE - Pricing is deceptive! Called about getting TB test for employer job, listed price on website is $28. Thanks goodness I called the hotline, because they charge ANOTHER $28 to come back in 48 hours to read the test and sign a paper to say it's negative. Go to WALGREENS! They list their price for $28 and that's what it is!! Does not cost extra to come back for a 2 minute read of the skin test. Minute Clinic needs to be upfront about their prices on their web site!!
Not Happy. My wife used the clinic and they diagnosed her with the flu. She got a script for Tamiflu. When she called me with the results, we brought the whole family in to get a similar script that same day. Took a long time to get all the initial insurance (primary/secondary) into the system, but after about two hours total was done and we all had what we needed for the family. Since then we keep getting bills since they will not do the follow on billing to the secondary insurance. When I call... The first time I waited 32 minutes on hold (hung up), Second time I waited 37 minutes on hold (hung up), the third time I resolved to wait and it took 58 minutes to get it resolved. I have a timer on my phone so I know. They acted like all the other insurers that want to drag their feet with contacting a secondary insurer, but said they now would. Its just those other companies never were so hard to get a hold of. Yesterday, I got another one of their bills saying I still owed, but not indicating they had contacted my other insurer. I have asked my wife to never go back, I will obviously not either. They are not ready for Prime Time. Maybe in the future, but we have several other options since this thing seems to be a growing trend. Nice idea, poor execution until the back channels get their act together.
007 is working at cvs minute clinic, the worst part is who is also a racist. I went to a cvs minute colonic for a TB skin test result. I was told the result is positive, because I am a Chinese and I must have contacted sick people back in China. So I came back home and spent 5 minutes in front of my laptop to check CDC website. The result should be negative based on CDC. It looks like CVS is hiring someone has no idea what she is doing and gives patients wrong diagnosis for such a simple test. I will never go to CVS ever again.
Worst experience ever!! Waited three hours with two people in front of me! Got told I had double ear infections but never got my meds thanks for the APRN refusing to confirm the script with pharmacy!! Stay away from the Waterbury minute clinic !!
Pitiful experience. I or my family will never go back!
http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/community/for-patients/common-illnesses/bronchitis.html
Bronchitis is viral. That means antibiotics will not help treat it. Most sinus infections are also viral and antibiotics will not help. Just because you are sick does not mean you need antibiotics. Kids especially are always sick with new viruses that can linger for weeks.
There is only one person working at Minute Clinic doing the jobs of many people. They are just one person, just like you, trying to earn a paycheck.
Susan- Thank goodness someone who finally understands what the practice of good medicine is, and your comments are spot on. These recommendations people are complaining about are not based on CVS policies, they are based on the Centers for Disease Control policies, and they are the latest evidence based research available. Not giving an antibiotic for a viral illness (bronchitis, most sinus infections, etc.) is considered excellent medical practice by all learned authorities, while handing out antibiotics like M & M's is considered bad medicine and is harming the population. Please laypeople, stop writing about what are good/bad medical practices when you don't have the knowledge base to understand the why behind these research based decisions. Thank you. And no, I don't work for CVS. I am a medical professional who happened across this stream while looking for something else and felt compelled to help clear up some serious misunderstandings about good medical practice. Their decisions are sound and correct.
SCAM!!!! BEWARE!!!
My husband and I had an extremely upsetting and very costly experience with the Minute Clinic on 2/6/2016, located on 1540 E. Main Street, Allen, TX 75002. My husband and I scheduled an appointment with the on-call Practitioner; Amiri, A.
During our visit 2/6/2016, Amiri, A. never mentioned to my husband or myself that we would be required to pay additional fees for the tests he conducted during our visit. Mr. Amiri informed us that he or someone within the Minute Clinic would give us a call to let us know the results of the testing and I NEVER received a phone call till this day. Also, during the visit, we both paid a total of $249.00, and again, we were never informed that we would receive additional cost or that our test results would be sent to Quest Diagnostics. Mr. Amiri knew we did not have insurance during our visit as he asked us and he decided to take it upon himself to send off our test results without informing us during the visit. I contacted a representative at the Joint Commission at 800-994-6610. They are looking into this case now.
Unfortunately, the problem remains unresolved. I'm not sure if Mr. Amiri or the Minute Clinic receives additional commissions or pay for sending these tests to Quest Diagnostics, but after reviewing these invoices, that's how it comes across to me. I have now received my THIRD NOTICE from Quest Diagnostics requesting payment totaling $230.88.
I’ve spoken to a LaDonna, Luiz or Louise and they have no compassion or regard to my situation and are NOT admitting fault for the unprofessionalism of their practitioner or for their unprofessional service. Should they decide to make things RIGHT, I would be HIGHLY surprised.
Teresa,
thanks for sharing your experiences. I have been through similar issues, though not with Minute Clinic. Physicians should be legally required to inform on pricing before moving forward. If there is one thing that medical care needs is more transparency in pricing. Seems every other industry has been forced to disclose information in a standardized format, yet medical care is not. It pissed me off to no end.
Paul,
It's extremely sad that the Minute Clinics are all about the money. Minute Clinic is horrible, and it’s a shame how they conduct their business. I hope people read this before visiting a Minute Clinic. It will save them a lot of money and aggravation.
This is my first experience using the minute clinic and I can say it will be my last. As a nurse practitioner myself I have been very disappointed by several things. I went to one clinic and signed in and was told oh we dont have any ppd supplies. The last nurse didnt date when they opened the solution and so we cannot use it and the other box is outdated. To make things worse they dont take insurance for ppd snd the cost is double what it is at Walgreens clinic. She said well the closest ones are blank and blank so just go online and save your place which I did. It said wait would be 40 minutes so I got to the clinic right on time only to find out the np would be gone until 316 which was 35 minutes past the time I was supposed to be seen. Then she called the girl that was there before me but had not done the save your place in line. If I hadnt waited for over an hour and a half total and gone to two different places I would have just walked out. I am very disappointed with the process here snd will tell everyone I know to avoid this place. As I am a np I am certain they will listen.
Took my 7 year old daughter to a minute clinic today because it was 4:30 on a Sat and dr's office was closed. She started with a fever today and my friend's kids had strep earlier this week so I thought maybe she did too. Expected wait time was 25 min but the person ahead of me didn't show up so it was actually more like 10 min. The nurse gave my daughter the strep test which was negative but after examining her noticed that her ears were infected. Prescribed an antibiotic which we picked up there, which took about 15 min. Everyone was very nice. Happy with our experience.
Hey everyone I went to minute clinic again. This time they decided to over bill me with a 99203: New Patient Extended Visit. I was expecting an $80 bill not a $129 bill. I am now blogging about trying to get this resolved. I will update the blog as thing progresses. Hopefully they do the right thing, else that will be the last time I visit a minute clinic.
WORST experience at the CVS Minute Clinic! I signed into the Norwich, CT kiosk and had a 24-min waiting time. After the wait, Dr. Cathy came out and told me she needed to take a break. I said, "Sure, you are only human," thinking it was a bathroom break. She replied, "It will be a quick 30-minutes." I said, in disbelief, "Really? No, I'm not going to wait 30 more minutes! Just cancel," then she asked "Are you sure?" WOW - UNACCEPTABLE. I left. I only just wanted to find out if my bronchial situation was pneumonia or not - not a trivial thing. CVS doesn't even have a feedback method on their website, only one about the website itself.
I had severe asthmatic bronchitis and CVS Minute Clinic refused to medicate me!! My symptoms had been going on for well over a week. I had severe body aches, lethargy, fever, congestion, shortness of breath, wheezing and congestion. Just before I arrived, I took a motrin for the fever. The Nurse Practitioner took my vitals and asked my symptoms. She then put all my symptoms into a computer program. Then she tells me I have a viral infection because I don't have a fever. Therefore, she can't prescribe me any antibiotics. I asked her what to do about my worsening symptoms. She told me to stand in a hot shower for moist air!!! She then went on to tell me not to take any motrin or cold medicine because it could aggrevate my high blood pressure. So basically I left with instructions for tylenol and a hot shower. As the night progressed, I got so bad, I was about to go to the ER. However, I waited until morning and by the grace of God, my doctor squeezed me in. He was appalled at my Minute Clinic Diagnoses of a respiratory infection. He diagnosed me with Severe Asthmatic Bronchitis. I was on the verge of developing pneumonia. He gave me 2 inhalers, 14 days worth of antibiotics AND 2 taper for Oral steroids. That's how sick I was and Minute Clinic told me to stand in the shower as treatment. Next time, I don't care how sick I am, I will wait 2 days to see my doctor. Minute Clinic did nothing when I needed them most. I spend $35 on bad advice and I was misdiagnosed. Perhaps the NP was doing her job, but it was a bad job. How do you tell someone with shortness of breath to stand in a hot shower??????????? I will never go to Minute Clinic again. They are only good for quick physicals. If you are sick and need an antibiotic, they will not give it to you. They are too conservative.
Total waste of time. On their Web site they claim they treat UTIs, but when you get there and tell them up front that is why you are there, they go through the motions and at the end tell you, they can only refer you, and they cannot even do a urine test, because that would mean, they would have to treat you. If they know this up front, then, they should just say, sorry, nothing we can do for you, go see a real doctor, and we will not be charging you for today. Just another way for Florida Hospital to steal your hard earned money.
I have had great experience twice with the NPs in the Ellettsville, IN Minute Clinic. BUT there is no support customer service from administration. The website is pitiful. There is no email contact available. The wait times on the phone to talk with billing is nearly an hour and I still have yet to be able to talk with anyone! Many complaints along this line. BUT, I do like the servie from the local nurses at my minute clinic.
I have been there twice for screening. Everything went well fast and efficient. I just wish I had read the disclosures and provided information online before going because that kios is time consuming and I was worried about waiting patients looking at my personal information on the screen.
I have a complaint about a nurse practioner who took care of me. Went in for the shingle shot and she told me medicare wouldn't pay so I told her my insurance BCBS told me I have goto CVS Minute Clinic for shot and it will be covered. I told the lady this and said my husband got the shot on May 23rd and he had no problem with regisitration and paying. She was very rude and kept saying it will not pay so she filled in all the questions and turned to me and said it will cost you $153. I said no way BCBS said its covered. after 10 mins of back and forth conversation I said forget it. I drove all the way home pulled my husband info and called BCBS again and they said have her call them its covered. Returned to store and found the door a little open and said here is my husbands paperwork and I called and they told me it was covered. I told her to call the insurance company or call your supervisor to see how we can get this taken care of since i am not paying for the shot which is covered. She finally called her supervisor and said she cant get the computer to file the insurance and her supervisor couldn't help either, so they put it through so that I will get billed and I can submit so I can do the work and they dont have to fix the problem. It was the attitude that she had, her comment this is not my normal store so what you do better in your normal store and your computer works different really. The girl needs to go back to learn more customer service or the computer and how to manage problems since she had attitude as soon as we walked in on June 4th and I wasted 1/30 hrs of my time trying to get a shingle shot and now when the bills come in I get to deal with that problem so it will be more time for me less for her. I felt like we were bothering her when I was called.
this was not the experience my husband had and she also never told me anything about it how I will pain in the arm today and maybe a few more days. My husband was told this and she also was so pleasant to talke with. Might not ever go back to Minute Clinic on Cape Coral Pkwy when this lady is there.
Will not use Minute Clinic again. Have had issues with setting up my MyChart after completing my COVID test due to an Invalid Personal Information error even though my information was all correct. Emailed Support with no response. Finally found a number and was hung up on twice becore recieving a different email adress to email to resolve my issue. Now 4 days later, still no responses to my email. Today, I called CVS Minute Clinic again and was hung up on 3 times this morning. This is just bad customer service and I will not recieve the results from this test. I need a negative COVID test to return to work and now I am have to search and keep calling locations to find a rapid test so I can go back to work. I understand we are currently living in a different world, but my experience has been anything but acceptable. My family and myself will be pulling all prescriptions for CVS which is a substantial amount of money with 3 of us purchasing ~$1,000 diabetic supplies each from them monthly. Not my first bad CVS experience but it will be the last.
My daughter was seen on July 5 at a CVS Minute Clinic by a nurse. Our daughter was sick and getting worse. Based on our knowledge of our daughter and her symptoms, we asked the nurse to prescribe an antibiotic which she refused to do as she saw no reason to do so. We went out of town for the holidays and upon returning 4 days later she was worse and we went to a real clinic to see a real doctor who indicated that my daughter had bronchitis and was in need of an antibiotic. Upon hearing that I contacted CVS to demand a refund based on the previous diagnosis and the unwillingness to prescribe the antibiotic. They indicated that I would have to contact the corporate person and that it could take up to 7 days for her to respond. We heard from the person several days later who expressed that she would check into the situation and try to get it resolved. After which we received a letter indicating that the nurse had followed the proper procedures. Following procedures and having enough knowledge and skill to know when someone is genuinely sick apparently is two different things and apparently not a requirement of the CVS Minute Clinics.
This is the same clinic that once upon a time my ears were clogged with wax and I went to the Minute Clinic to get them cleaned out. After a brief conversation they told me that my ears were full of wax which is what I told them when I arrived. They then told me that I would have to see a Doctor because at that time they did not have the piece of equipment necessary to clean out my ears.
I am writing this comment in an effort to let everyone know that if you wish for your loved one's not to have to suffer when they are sick, please do not use the CVS Minute Clinics.