Urgent Care vs Primary Physician
behind which door is Marcus Welby, MD?
Live and learn. Last summer, I had a scary medical occurrence.
I was experiencing some unusual stabbing, intense throbbing pains in the back of my leg. My heart rate was accelerated and I had the worst headache of my life. I took an extra-strength Tylenol and deliberated my next step.
It was a Friday afternoon, so I knew that my primary care physician’s office would be closed. I live two blocks from an Urgent Care facility, so I decided if my symptoms did not improve, I would go there.
I had been there before and they had my file in their computer. Seems that when I had breathing problems last winter, they took a chest x-ray and found water in my lungs. I ended up in the emergency room, was treated and through recovery was advised to follow up on my condition with my primary care physician, a cardiologist.
I began to notice that the Urgent Care was an indispensable component of my health care for a number of important reasons.
Flexible Hours and Immediate Health Care
Urgent Care is usually open longer hours than my primary doctor. No appointment is necessary and they are open seven days a week.
The convenience of immediate health care is becoming a prevalent part of our walk-in culture.
Competent Doctors
Urgent Care doctors deal with a large number of medical conditions, rashes, cuts and bites, sore throats, colds and the flu, as well as cardiac, pulmonary and other health symptoms. Serious conditions are referred to the emergency room.
Urgent Care mission — not a replacement for PCP or the Emergency Room
The Urgent Care’s mission is provide immediate medical care, when applicable under their guidelines. Always with the recommendation of following up with one’s Primary Care Physician for long term care.
Urgent Care doctors cover all their bases and if further diagnosis is advised requiring prompt testing of life-threatening conditions leading to stroke, aneurisms or cardiac, they will immediately refer you to the emergency room of a local hospital and arrange for an ambulance, if necessary.
And that’s what happened to me on my last visit, just to rule out the possibility of stroke, blood clot and complications from high blood pressure. My Primary Care Physician was kept in the loop, receiving all my test results, and he made necessary adjustments to my medications.
Urgent Care accepts most Health Insurance
This is a critical factor in health care, for peace of mind in a world where we have enough to worry about anyway.
And yes, you can very well expect to find a competent, reassuring Dr. Marcus Welby at Urgent Care, with the exception of house calls.
