Don't Waste Your Money!

I've been dealing with a horrible sore throat for a few days now, and today the white blistery spots started. I have a history of tonsillitis and was actually scheduled to have my tonsils taken out a year ago, but I chickened out last minute. So - for me - it's not rocket science to figure out what's about to happen!

So, tonight, I gave in! I've hard all the rave about the new CVS Minute Clinic's so I thought I'd head down there thinking it would be an easy in and out, with a simple diagnosis, especially considering my history.

Started out simple enough... you enter your name into a computer and sit and wait your turn. I only waited about 20 minutes, for a walk-in I was pretty happy with that. A nurse practitioner (who did not speak English well at all) greeted me and took me into her little office. She immediately starts asking me canned questions from the computer and she clicks my answers... hardly any eye contact at all. Once she's done she says "the computer says to do a rapid strep test". I told her that was fine, but I was certain it was tonsillitis and started to tell her my history - she cut me off saying "the computer gives us clinical guidelines we have to follow".

Uhhh... excuse me? The computer is your clinical judgement????

So I let her do the strep test - she shoved the thing half way down my throat and left it there so long I ended up grabbing her arm to take it OUT of my throat! Kid you not! She runs the test and then shows it to me saying "one pink line is negative, two is positive, you only have one so what you have is viral".

Again - at this point she still hadn't even LOOKED at my tonsils! She's working based on what the computer told her to do!

She starts to click something on the computer and I said to her - it's the tonsils that are a mess, so she finally looked. First she asks (after she looked) do you even still have your tonsils? SERIOUSLY!?!? She then told me.... and I quote.... "you do have a lot of them, but your white blisters aren't large enough for me to click as a symptom" and she turned to go back to letting the computer spit out IT'S diagnosis...

"sore throat"

By now I was ticked and I told her so! Told her that it was a complete waste of my $35 copay and I'll call my own doctor tomorrow - to which she asked me if my own doctor prescribed meds based on what I thought was wrong. I very sternly replied - and I quote again "no, but she DOES use her own clinical judgement, something that you clearly don't know how to do!".

She was ever so kind as to print off the what to do for a sore throat sheet, and sent me on my merry way!

Now - I'm sure that if you have something that can be simply diagnosed with a test (i.e. strep, flu, etc.) that it's fine. But if there's any clinical judgement involved at all - don't waste your time or your money at Minute Clinic!