Innovation: The solution to the health care crisis

As a former emergency room doctor, I can tell you that I’ve seen firsthand the overcrowding of emergency rooms. I’ve seen “frequent flyers” that come in once a week or more. I’ve treated people for non-serious illnesses that should have been treated through a much less expensive general practice. I’ve also seen true-emergencies and preformed last-minute life saving operations.

It’s easy to say that the solution to overcrowding is to eliminate the overuse of the ER, but in practice it is not that simple. Parents with sick children often turn to the ER or urgent care clinics when they can’t get immediate appointments with primary physicians. Many others come to the ER because their symptoms come at night and they don’t want to wait until 9 am for a doctor’s office to open. These people have turned to the expensive ER as a one-stop shop for their minor emergencies.

The true solution to eliminating the overuse of the ER lies in innovation. American entrepreneurs across the country are stepping up the plate to provide creative solutions that attack the cost crisis in healthcare from every angle. Recently, I’ve been impressed by a company called MinuteClinic. MinuteClinic operates clinics conveniently located in drugstores and near pharmacies. MinuteClinic will treat common illnesses and provide common vaccinations with no appointment necessary. The prices are affordable (and much cheaper than the ER) and MinuteClinic treatments are covered by a wide variety of insurance plans including Medicare. Innovative solutions like these clinics are the true solution to the overcrowding in the ER and the overuse of the healthcare system in general.