subject: Best Things About A Walk In Clinic [print this page] A walk in clinic can be a great alternative to making an appointment with a doctor or going to the emergency room. In the past, going to the ER or to a family physician were the only two choices that a person had. Now, patients have the option of just driving over to a local clinic or urgent care facility and merely walking in to see the MD. This works for routine checkups, illnesses or accidents. As long as the situation isn't life threatening, a walk in clinic can be the answer. Here are some of the best reasons to use this alternative:
-No advance planning: When a patient makes an appointment with a doctor, he or she will need to do a bit of advanced planning. Individuals with tight schedules may find that difficult. When a window of opportunity presents itself to go get a physical performed, it's nice to be able to seize it without waiting days or weeks for an appointment. When kids come home from school and need a sports physical right away in order to sign up for soccer, this is possible without waiting around to get in to the family doctor.
-They take insurance: Urgent care and clinical settings accept most insurance plans, just like any healthcare facility. These places have secretarial and accounting employees that take care of billing insurance companies, dealing with co-pays, deductibles and more. Patients just need to bring their proof of insurance such as a card or policy information and they'll be all set.
-No waiting for hours like emergency rooms at the local hospital: The ERs at hospitals often have extremely lengthy wait times before patients can be seen by a physician. Clinics are smaller and don't see life threatening cases. This allows for a shorter wait time.
-An MD is always on duty: Professionals who staff these facilities include nurses, nurse practitioners and doctors. There is always at least one MD on the premises to take care of patients.
-Lab and x-ray facilities on site: Most units have labs and x-ray machines on the premises so that individuals don't have to drive across town to have laboratory work done or x-rays taken. What's even better is that the results are available that very day, so no waiting around for labs to contact docs with results. Having everything done under one roof greatly streamlines the process.
-Vacationers can still get medical care: When traveling on vacation, coming down with a sore throat or an itchy skin rash can really crimp the trip. This is the perfect time to find the nearest urgent care facility and to get on the road to healing.
A walk in clinic can be a wonderful way to get medical attention right when and where it's needed. Some of the best reasons for this option include reducing the need for planning in advance, being able to have them bill one's insurance company, shorter wait times than ERs, MDs and labs on the premises, and they're around while people are on vacation.
