The next time you go to the grocery store, drugstore or warehouse club take a look at the healthcare services being offered. You may or may not be surprised to see that there’s a doctor or a nurse practitioner present and that your favorite drugstore or grocery store is now in the healthcare business.
With healthcare being such a big business, it was just a matter of time for alternative healthcare channels to open up for consumers. I’m just not sure that I would go to Costco for my travel immunizations before heading off to Rwanda to track endangered mountain gorillas or to CVS for my medical care, but that’s just me. Living in Houston with the Texas Medical Center (which is bigger than downtown Dallas 🙂 ) just minutes away, I’m spoiled and probably take state of the art medical care for granted.
Certified Legal Nurse Consultants should be on the alert for new litigation involving these non-traditional healthcare settings. Anywhere there is medical care there is potential for medical malpractice. For example many non-traditional healthcare channels are now treating minor injuries. Misdiagnosis of a serious injury perceived to be minor can lead to serious complications.
Standards of care in grocery stores and pharmacies will also need to be clearly defined by the healthcare profession. A Certified Legal Nurse Consultant will be instrumental in researching standards of care for the attorney on medical malpractice cases related to warehouse clubs, grocery stores and pharmacies.
Whether based in a hospital or a grocery store, even the most well-meaning healthcare provider can make a potentially fatal misdiagnosis or mistake. When that happens Certified Legal Nurse Consultants, both plaintiff and defense, should be ready.
I’m Just Sayin’
P.S. Comment and share your experiences as a legal nurse consultant with providers in non-traditional healthcare settings.
