Projo Offbeat Blog

Do you ever feel like a visit to the doctor's office or dentist's office is like a visit to a drive-thru window?

"Let's check your heart. Here's a prescription. See you next year. Gotta keep the line moving."

If you've gotten that drive-thru or assembly-line feeling during a visit to a health-care provider, then you might not be surprised to learn that some hospitals are experimenting with the kind of drive-thru experience, according to an Associated Press report.

"Call it McTriage," the story says.

Hospitals are testing these systems so they can handle an overwhelming demand for services, such as a swine flu outbreak, the story reports.

At Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., doctors recently tested a drive-thru system for flu patients in a parking ramp, the story reports.

Through the car window, a doctor can measure blood pressure, pulse and breathing rates. Blood tests can also be done.

The drive-thru shaved 80 minutes off the typical two-hour wait in the regular emergency room.

That's comforting news. It might also be comforting to know that if the doctor probes a little too much, you can step on the gas and go.

 Tags  drive-thru

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