Illogical Loyalty

So I actually found another clinic in Hart County. The MedLink Clinic in Hartwell provides services to both the insured and the uninsured based on a sliding fee scale.

The scale is based on the federal poverty levels because the clinic is federally funded. Medlink is really nice. Bright carpet and paint on the walls, plenty of chairs, and just and overall welcoming ambience. What I found most disturbing is that people in the county aren’t beating down the doors for an appointment.

There is a small sign outside of the clinic that advertises accepting new patients. Of course that is to be expected because it is not the best advertised clinic. I didn’t know it existed until I saw it upon leaving the Hart County Hospital ER.

Don’t worry I’m fine.

But internet searches and several resource inquiries did not bring Medlink to my attention. I asked both the office manager and a nurse if they had any kind of advertising material and they could not provide me with any.

Meanwhile, at the Hart County Health Department approximately 90 people are on a waiting list to be seen by the nurses. Even though the nurses recommend the Medlink Clinic at times, it is still underutilized.

Health department employees attribute their waiting list to patient loyalty, but from a personal -perspective if I am sick and need to be checked out my last concern would be perceived loyalty.

I since that the underutilization of the MedLink Clinic is due to their failure to advertise and inform the public of their services. Even employees at the health department were misinformed about how the Medlink Clinic determines fees for services.

It is really unfortunate that the MedLink clinic has a subtle image problem because it is a really nice place. The staff was extremely polite to me and gave me lots of great information, but I sought out that information.

What about people that get information via word-of-mouth? -- A common practice in small towns.

I have decided to delve deeper into the dynamic that exists between the two clinics. Some surprising information has surfaced.