Minuteclinic

Oct 2018

I had been trying to find a pharmacy to get a tetanus booster shot. I called Walgreens within 5 miles of where I live and none of them had the vaccine. I then called the 800 number for Minute Clinics and asked if they could find out if any of the clinic's within a 5 mile radius of where I live had the vaccine. After about 25 minutes on hold the representative she came back and and said that the location at 9640 N Milwaukee in Niles had the vaccine. I asked her if I needed an appointment or could I do a walk in. She said I should go right away cause they weren't busy and didn't need an appointment so I left right away. I live about 20 minutes from location and got there about 115p and did the standard sign in and when I finished it said that they would see me in about 75 minutes. Apparently at this location they go to lunch from 130p till 230p and they had a patient in the room already. I am not begrudging them lunch but I as there before 130p and I drove a fairly long way and feel they should have given me my shot then gone to lunch. I was talking to someone outside their door about my displeasure with this system and that the person at the 800 number didn't tell me anything about their lunch hour or registering online and one of the PA's came out said that they could hear me and that I would have to wait till they came back from lunch and I told them I was willing to wait for them to finish with the patient they had but felt they should give me the vaccine since it would only take a short time and then they could go to lunch ( there were no other people after me or had registered on their patient screen) and she said I would have to come back at 230p to get my shot and I told her I wasn't going to do that and I was going to contact Minute Clinic customer service to express my displeasure with there system. I was in customer service for 35 years before I retired and I never would have done anything like this to a client. I am a Silverscript ( Medicare part D) member. I get the better prices for any drugs I may need by using CVS ( I don't take any at this time) but I am seriously thinking about switching to a different plan. I was also told that Minute Clinic's are not owned by CVS. They lease space to them but as far as I'm concerned they are CVS since they are in their stores and they need to know how people are treated.

Nov 2017

I live in Chicago during the week for work, and have for several years, yet all my doctors are in another city. When I can pre-plan an appointment, I have the flexibility to return to the other city for it. I really like my doctors, after many years of great relationships with them, so have chosen so far not to leave them and find new doctors in Chicago. This has worked really well so far, because I haven't been sick enough to need to see a doctor THAT DAY. This all changed a few weeks ago, when I returned from a trip to a convention with a bad case of what I figured was either bronchitis (which it was, coupled with a sinus infection) or pneumonia (which it was just starting to be). The day after my most miserable flight home (the flight was fine, but I felt lousy and was all congested and coughing, and I feel so sorry for the people who had to sit near me!), I decided I had to see a doctor, and soon. And I felt too lousy to make the three-hour trip back to see my usual family doctor. So I checked online with my insurance company to see which nearby walk-in clinics were included in our network, and was relieved to see that the CVS Minute Clinics were in-network, and that there were several nearby. I chose this one because it's about halfway between my home and office, and on my regular commuting route, so figured it would be most convenient if follow-up was needed. I tried to make an appointment online, but after first telling me I could, the app then told me this function was unavailable. I checked the app for the approximate wait time, and when I saw in the early afternoon that it had dropped from about 90 minutes to about 25, I headed out. Once there, I was only second in line, and was seen in about 30 minutes, maybe less. The check-in process was easy -- all online, using a keyboard and monitor in the waiting area. I really liked the nurse practitioner who saw me, Caitlin. She was extremely friendly and personable (even asking to see a video of my daughter's singing performance when I mentioned the purpose of the convention I'd just attended), conversed with me compassionately and intelligently about my symptoms, examined me thoroughly, and clearly explained the diagnoses and treatments (there were several of each). She sent the prescription orders directly to the store pharmacy online (after confirming with me that this is where I wanted them sent), had me use the prescribed inhaler under her supervision for the first time after I picked up the meds at the pharmacy, then re-checked some of my vitals a few minutes later to confirm that it was doing its job. In summary, I felt like I was in my own doctor's office, receiving the same excellent treatment I was used to receiving there. Two days later, I received a call from the clinician on duty, to ask if the medications were working and I was feeling better. (At the time I felt like I'd improved significantly from Monday, and told her this, but was still at home resting and recuperating trying to get over it.) This was much appreciated, and a nice touch that even my own doctor's office doesn't do. Unfortunately, as has been the case with many of my fellow convention-goer friends, I still hadn't shaken all of my illness a week after finishing the first round of antibiotics, so I ended up back at the Minute Clinic two and a half weeks after my first visit, this time seeing a nurse practitioner named Monica. She was also very nice, and very thorough, and I again felt very well cared for. I asked Monica if she and Caitlin job shared, and she explained that yes, they were the two "regulars" there, and they alternated weekends, and also had some floating NPs who filled in the extra hours. Overall, I was very, very impressed (and very pleasantly surprised) with the care I received. The only time I've used a similar facility was to get a shot for my daughter, that we found out at the last minute she needed before she started college, so I didn't have any true experience with a walk-in clinic for treating an illne