Longevity Live Partner Content. The staff and clinicians with the Urgent Care facilities want patients to realize the limitations of the treatment they’re able to render. A genuine emergency needs urgent tending to in the ER.
For those coming in with any sort of serious bleeding, chest pain, shortness of breath, seizure or other neurological problem, or a severe head trauma rendering unconsciousness of any degree are merely a few reasons to go to emergency.
If you show up with these symptoms, you’ll either have an ambulance take you to ER; or the staff will dismiss you to go to the hospital. Find out what these clinical physicians want you to know at https://www.healthgrades.com/right-care/urgent-care/7-things-urgent-care-providers-want-you-to-know. But there are some things the doctors at the clinic aren’t sharing with you.
Tidbits Providers At Urgent Care Don’t Share With Patients
Many clinicians staffing the Urgent Care centers wish patients understood the urgency of some conditions that require the ER instead of wasting precious time coming to see them only to have an ambulance called for proper care. But there are other details the providers are not as forthcoming about, such as:
- You can Go In Early: When your primary physician says you can’t have an appointment for months, clinical professionals at Urgent Care can often do specific things that a primary handles, such as Pap smears, adult vaccines, sports/school physicals, STD testing, skin allergies, and much more standard doctor appointment protocol.
- Primary Doctors Not Fond Of The Concept: Regular physicians are not fond of the clinics because there is a feeling among the doctors that these providers could do more of the “easier work,” but instead, they pass on these things in favor of the more “complex” responsibilities or instead provide urgent care services as their name implies. Doctors feel the providers could handle more loads.
- Waste More Money By Coming To The Wrong Place: If you have a dire situation and come to the wrong facility, the staff will call the ambulance, costing a copay for this visit and another when you get to the ER, not to mention the ambulance transport.
Faster better urgent care outcomes
But money is the least of the worries. You’ll be wasting valuable time on a medical emergency when there could be a faster resolution in seeing the proper provider.
- The Price Is Not Final If You Pay Cash – Attempt To Negotiate: If you go in as a self-pay patient with no insurance, the price can prove to be exorbitant. With many medical offices, there is room for negotiation if you’re paying in cash, especially for those prepared to make a payment immediately.
Even if you can’t pay the lump sum upfront, you can make an initial effort and arrange for regular monthly installments. Some centers have cards available to their clients that give a discount for each time they need to come.
- Each Center Is Unique: Some care clinics have a setup for diagnostics and testing, while others are merely available for minor illnesses, including slight injuries, coughs/colds, sore throats, and things of that nature.
All urgent care centers provide free samples of current medications to assist with treatment, but these are not technically free. They equate to the most costly aspect of the entire visit. You should request a more cost-effective but equally beneficial alternative. Open this for guidelines on what mistakes to avoid when going for a visit.
Not everything the provider recommends is necessarily the right plan for you. Inquiring about the necessity of any suggested treatment, testing, or referrals, is always expected and encouraged, as well as asking for the cost to ensure it’s budget-friendly.
The suggestion is that the staff in these facilities are required to recommend a variety of options, even if they might not be the right choice for you according to how clinic guidelines dictate.
Final Thoughts
When visiting Urgent Care facilities, you will have a wait time because schedules there are based on a first-come-first-serve basis. The difference between these and the ER is the knowledge that you’ll see someone within an hour from the time you go.
Apparently, you have an option to call ahead to get on the waiting list, and the staff will send a text approximately half-hour before the availability.
These are merely a few tidbits providers don’t share with the patient. Make sure to do your research before you go because there are many more facts of which you should be “up-to-speed” so that you don’t get caught unaware.
