Need medical attention? You might be able to do some grocery shopping while you’re there, if the Navy’s planned test of putting medical clinics in some commissaries is successful.\u00a0
The test, which will take place in the Jacksonville, Florida, area, is in the planning phase.\u00a0The clinics will be run by Navy corpsmen, said Vice Adm. Forrest Faison III, the Navy surgeon general, during a Dec.1 session at the conference of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, held just outside Washington, D.C.\u00a0
“Those corpsmen who save lives on the battlefield need to be doing more than taking vital signs and pushing records in the records room,” Faison said.\u00a0“We’re letting them run clinics in our commissaries to give them the clinical experience they need, to build confidence in patient care that they need.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further information about the test\u00a0\u2013 what types of care would be offered, whether appointments would be required, or the role (or interest level) of the Defense Commissary Agency or other service branches in the pilot, for instance\u00a0\u2013 was not immediately available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along with providing experience for military medical personnel, the clinics also would offer convenience, helping keep young service members connected to military health care. Faison noted that service members and their families have more choices now with their health plan, “so our challenge is to get them to choose us, in an environment and with a generation that’s driven by convenience.”
Major enterprises such as Walmart are getting into the health care business, he said.
“No appointment is required. \u2026. [Walmart has] integrated health care into people’s day-to-day lives,” Faison said.\u00a0“It’s a big deal to have to call up and navigate the phone tree to make an appointment, drive to the hospital, find a parking spot, which is challenging in some of our facilities, go and sit in the waiting room, see the doctor, go to the pharmacy, wait in the pharmacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s an all-day evolution. Why would you do that when you can just go to Walmart and pick up dinner on the way home?”\u00a0
Jacksonville Navy medical officials are testing ways to improve patients’ experiences overall, and part of that is looking at ways to provide care outside the hospital setting.
The concept is “if they don\u2019t have to come to the hospital, don\u2019t make them come to the hospital,” Faison said. “Seventy percent of what goes into a primary care clinic doesn\u2019t need to see a physician. So why are we making them do that?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The military medical system must fundamentally change how it approaches medical care for millennials in other ways, too, Faison said, noting that technology is an integral part of millennials’ lives. There are nearly 16,000 health-related apps in the iTunes store\u00a0\u2013\u00a0none of which went through quality control, Faison said.