Brilliant Idea

Great article this morning in the New York Times that talks about a 24-hour clinic designed to catch people who might otherwise end up in the emergency room because of a non-emergent condition that occurred during their physician's off hours.

The article notes that an estimated 60% of ER patients could (ie should) be treated in a physician's office.  Perhaps if this model really takes off, we might begin to reverse the trend of overcrowding ERs.  But with posted warnings that clinic staff do not have access to narcotics, I'm not going to hold my breath.