The high school graduation party circuit was in full swing. In fact, the family had so many parties to get to on one Friday night in June that they had to divide and conquer. although the family of four had all arrived at the first party of the evening together, the two daughters soon left with friends to make an appearance and two other parties. Only 30 minutes later, however, the oldest daughter sent a text to her mom:
Are you still at Hannah’s party?
Yes, we are.
I am coming back. It feels like my scar is burning!
Six weeks earlier the older daughter had an ankle surgery while she was away at college. The family was planning to leave the next morning for a vacation to the Southern states, as well as to a follow up appointment to the surgeon’s office. The cast which was applied two weeks after surgery was supposed to come off at the scheduled appointment in three days. The burning sensation late on a Saturday evening was not in the plans.
By the time the oldest daughter had her friends drop her back off at the party, the parents had already reached a decision. They simply could not wait another three days for the appointment nearly 12 hours away. The did not, however, want to pay the high price of going to a hospital emergency room. Instead, they decided they would take their daughter to one of the urgent care facilities that was open on Saturday night.
It was a good decision. Fearing an infection, the doctor on duty decided to remove the cast and see what was going on. As it turned out, the burning feeling was caused by several large water blisters that had developed from the rubbing of the cast. Applying a non-adhesive oil emulsion pad beneath the surgical dressing, the doctor was able to reapply a hard splint to the ankle. The burning sensation was immediately gone and the parents did not need to wait three more days and worry about an infection.
After Hours Urgent Care Facilities Provide Affordable Care
Primary care physician reviews can be helpful when a family is looking for a location for well checks, immunizations, and the normal health care of children. These locations, however, do not always work for the day to day medical emergencies that families face. In fact, few emergencies come at convenient times. While a primary care physician has limited office hours that require scheduled appointments, a walk in health clinic has extended hours, including evenings and weekends, and by definition, does not require an appointment. Family care providers are great for scheduled appointments for wellness visits, but they are not always the answer.
Did you know, for example, that a mere 29% of primary care doctors have after-hours coverage? And as the nation works to increase the number of doctors available for the increasing number of Americans who now have insurance, the health care field finds itself scrambling to find enough doctors to cover even normal business hours. And while the primary care physician model has worked well in the past, the fact of the matter is that urgent care facilities may indeed be the answer to the upcoming anticipated shortage. In fact, some experts predict that American will likely need almost 52,000 additional primary care physicians by 2025. Without this number, the health care system will not be ready for the country’s health care utilization needs.
Faster, More Convenient Options for Quality Health Care
As Americans we may have become accustomed to the primary care setting of calling weeks in advance for an appointment. A few time slots are left open for patients who have developed symptoms over night and need to see a doctor on short notice. These slots, however, are limited. Urgent care facilities, however, are still staffed with licensed physicians and nurses, but they work very differently.
A walk in health clinic typically has a much smaller wait time and patients can be seen without an appointment. Without expensive overhead of a hospital, walk in clinics are also a fraction of the expense of an emergency room. Additionally, most urgent care clinics accept insurance cards.
