June 26, 2007

Remember the adage that "if you can't beat them, join them"? When it comes to health care, the reigning slogan is "if you can't beat them, have them regulated out of existence." At least, this seems to be the tactic the American Medical Association is using against convenient care clinics like RediClinic and MinuteClinic, according to the Houston Chronicle:

"TheAmerican Medical Association wants authorities to investigate whether quickie retail-based health clinics run by pharmacy chains pose conflicts of interest that put profits ahead of patient health.

The nation's largest physicians' group on Monday adopted a resolution vowing to seek an investigation after several AMA doctors complained that the clinics interfere with the traditional practice of medicine."

Health care is the most regulated industry in America, making it extraordinarily expensive, dysfunctional, and confusing for patients and doctors alike.

Convenient care clinics offer consumers basic care at affordable prices in highly accessible locations. Rather than embracing the clinics as a way to empower consumers, the AMA is trying to strangle competition.

This will increase consumers' frustration with the health care system, as well as the public's willingness to embrace single payer health care - where doctors will have even less autonomy and initiative than they have today.

There is another expression for this kind of behavior: cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Posted by Paul Howard at June 26, 2007 03:55 PM