No Thank You

A local clinic recently announced on the radio that they had begun to offer same day, early morning, late evening and weekend appointments.

Is this good news?  Probably not.

While patients will doubtless appreciate increased options, there are downsides to the strategy. 

Making it too convenient to be seen will likely result in many patients checking in for symptoms that would remit safely on their own in a few days.

While most patients will get good care off hours a good number will fall prey to false positive tests and run the risk of becoming medicalized (over diagnosed). These individuals would be better off staying home or at work.

Moreover, it is unlikely that patients would see their own doctor, making the visit tantamount to a walk in clinic visit, more expensive and less accurate.

From this perch, the marketing of extended hours, is more an homage to the bottom line, than a concern for patient care.

It's basically a case of clinic administrators, dressed in the robes of public service, looking for patients.