Walk-ins welcome, but only if they're healthy

A California physician says the philosophy behind his WellnessMart is that the sick and the well should go to separate places for care.

By Karen Caffarini, AMNews staff. April 28, 2008.

As an internist and emergency physician, Richard McCauley, MD, spends five shifts a month treating the sick and injured at a California VA hospital. But on just about every other day, he can be found at a local strip mall, catering to the healthy.

Dr. McCauley owns WellnessMart, which he describes as a health store for the healthy. Two different groups of patients, two different locations. That's the way Dr. McCauley believes it should be.

"Why is it that sick people and well people go to the same place for care?" he asks. "What well people want is convenience and a place they can go to on their terms.

"If someone sneezes, we don't take care of them. I tell them they're in the wrong spot," Dr. McCauley said.

Started in the hallway of a health club a few years ago, the health store moved to a storefront in a strip mall in Thousand Oaks, Calif., last month.

Walk-in visitors can find free informational materials on various diseases and free workshops on how to prevent them. There also are mannequins available that visitors can take apart to see where the organs are in the body.

The store also offers immunizations, annual checkups, vaccinations and travel immunizations. Borrowing from McDonald's, Dr. McCauley said, WellnessMart lists all prices on a large menu board so patients know what they will be charged.

And while he doesn't accept insurance, his center does sell it. But he sells only plans with a high deductible, which he believes makes more financial sense for families and eventually will bring down the cost of health care.