After enduring a couple of weeks of being sick with a mild sinus infection that refused to go away on its own, I finally waved the white flag on Wednesday and sought professional help. Losing most of my voice finally pushed me over the edge. I knew it was a sinus infection and knew the solution was antibiotics. Instead of calling my primary care physician (PCP), who I assumed was booked solid with sick patients just like me, I tried something new: the MinuteClinic at CVS.

So-called convenience care clinics (CCCs) like MinuteClinic are a new trend in medicine. They offer a limited menu of services in exchange for the convenience of coming in without an appointment and, in many cases, lower costs. Staffed mostly by nurse practitioners or physician’s assistants, they are available in retail stores such as CVS or Wal-Mart and keep much longer hours than those of a typical PCP office. They can’t treat your brain tumor or deliver your baby, but they can be a great option for simple illnesses like sinus infections or UTIs, vaccinations, or routine physicals. Our insurance company is creating a special reduced copay of $15 for CCC visits starting in 2011.

Jenny and I both went separately to MinuteClinic on Wednesday. One person was ahead of me. After entering some basic new-patient information (into a real computer instead of an archaic paper form), I waited for maybe five minutes before seeing the PA. She entered all my symptoms into a computer, checked my vitals, and gave me a prescription plus some printed info about my condition. From arrival to completion took maybe 20 minutes. She sent my prescription to the in-store pharmacy, and I walked out with my amoxicillin.

The whole experience was very fast, relatively cheap, and extremely convenient. For minor illnesses in the future, I plan to return to MinuteClinic. My only complaint was a lack of warmth and friendliness by the PA. She was very businesslike and spent most of her time looking at her computer. But maybe she was just shy, or her native culture (she sounded African, but I’m not sure about the specific country) doesn’t include friendliness toward patients. But to me, that’s a pretty minor thing. I walked in with an illness and no appointment, and maybe half an hour later, I walked out with the medicine I needed. That’s hard to beat.

Have any of you tried a convenience care clinic? If so, how was your experience?