Urgent Care
Melissa came home from school early yesterday with itchy eyes and the school nurse though it might be pink eye. Without going into too much detail, it didn't take looking at her eye long to know something was wrong. Neither of us have established any relationships yet with a general practitioner, but I had gone to one once almost two years ago after I got sick around the time we first moved here. I decided to give them a call. They informed me she wouldn't be able to get an appointment until the 29th. I was a bit taken aback. The person on the phone suggested the ER, which seemed ridiculous to me. Then I remembered the urgent care center near Oschner. So Melissa went there, they said yes you do have pink eye, prescribed some drops, and that was that.
Is this normal? Is the whole Urgent Care center business a new thing? Does it normally take over a week to get in to see the regular doctor?
In some sense the Urgent Care center makes sense. I think I have pink eye. I want to see someone now. This isn't complicated and it doesn't seem like a big deal not to see my normal doc. But of course the co-pay is higher.
I mean when I went two years back it took a day or two to get in, which seemed within reason. Maybe it's just the holidays. I guess I'm just worried that the option of an Urgent Care center is making the regular docs less likely to see people quickly and we're left footing the bill.
2 Comments:
Ok Chad. How I feel is that the Doc in the Box is a great option. We have found that is better than the ER (cheaper)when you are not sure that there may a broken bone. However, if you need stitches, and it is on the face...you might want an ER. However, you should make a well visit appt. with a primary care provider. Most insurances cover one visit a year. That makes you access eaiser. Be sure and get you doctor's email. Sometimes that has been a great resource for our patients. Plus, having a primary provider it makes getting referrals a lot easier. Try getting into Dermatology with out a referral. :) Anyway just my thoughts.
Brent's wife Linda is outspoken on this issue, and she works in the field. She believes the urgent care facilities are very useful and an excellent alternative to visiting the ER, which i can ell you from our last experience is a 6-8 hour ordeal nowadays. You may want to talk with her about it when we're together on C Eve.
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