By Drs. Michael Roizen

and Mehmet Oz

Special to The Examiner Wish you could get your sore throat looked at as fast as you can get a double macchiato? Retail health clinics feel your pain, which is why almost 1,000 of them have sprung up in drugstores, shopping malls and big-box retail chains, such as Wal-Mart. The idea is that they take care of you quickly; no hours of waiting around for the moment you can slip into your regular doctor’s (already too busy) schedule. And they might be open on a Saturday, when you have a raging sinus infection and your usual doctor doesn’t have office hours.

Walk-in clinics have drawn more criticism (and sometimes, probably more praise) than they deserve from the medical establishment (although you do need to approach the clinics with some caution; more on that in a minute). Usually staffed by a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant, and most often with a doctor offsite who oversees several clinics to make sure the quality of medical care is up to snuff, they’re a lot like walk-in barbershops. You don’t need an appointment, the menu of services is bare-bones, and the prices are posted so you know what you’re in for. These days, many insurance plans pick up most of the cost too.