The American Medical Association's call to ban retail health clinics is disheartening ("AMA takes on retail clinics," June 25).
The AMA claims that retail health clinics are unsafe. But the clinics follow protocols from the Mayo Clinic and other highly-respected medical institutions to guide their decision making. Physicians' assistants and advanced degree nurses perform routine medical tasks, such as giving flu shots and treating poison ivy, strep throat, ear infections, and other common ailments.
At a time when many Americans struggle to afford basic health insurance, many of those seeking care at these clinics are the uninsured, who have limited access to private physicians and can?t afford the high cost of emergency room care.
Despite the AMA's claim that patient safety is its chief concern, could their real motivation be to restrict competition that is offering more affordable, convenient care?
Unlike the AMA, I fail to see why Americans need to be "protected" from the opportunity to save money on their health care bills.
Sincerely,
Grace-Marie Turner
President
Galen Institute
P.O. Box 320010
Alexandria, VA 22320