On April 4^th, Walgreens announced that its 300+ Take Care Clinics would be the first to diagnose and manage chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.  In the past, Walgreens along with its competitors Target and CVS managed already-established chronic illnesses.  The Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Physician Assistants (PAs) staffing these retail clinics also provide testing and

By Audrey Farahmand, MD

Many physicians like me have functioned in a politically “sterile” fashion - choosing to avoid the political arena and focus on our scientific jobs. We may vote on Election Day or occasionally send a check to support a political candidate.  However, for many of us, this is the extent of our political involvement. I’d like to blame my political complacency on my being a product of Generation X, the generation that produced a large fraction of our current medical society members.  Yet, I must confess that my political complacency has been rooted in the “Other-doctors-are-taking-care-of-this” attitude.  Evidently, I was not alone with this attitude as physicians have been out-lobbied by attorneys, insurance companies, and big Pharma. The recent physician-unfriendly legislative overhaul was quite a wake-up call to all of us that unless we become more involved; we will continue to be run over. The economic climate seemingly forced this monumental change in medicine and in doing so has changed how all of us will look at socialized medicine.