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Routine, urgent or emergency? Know how to choose the right healthcare provider

Routine, urgent or emergency? Know how to choose the right healthcare provider

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It never fails; it’s 5:05 pm on a weekday night and the cold you’ve been battling takes a turn for the worse. Or it’s Sunday morning and your toddler takes a hard tumble off the jungle gym at the park. If you’ve never experienced the age-old struggle of wondering whether an illness or accident warrants a trip to urgent care or the emergency room — well, chances are you will.

While no one wants to spend their morning in a busy urgent care waiting room or pay a steeper emergency room copay unnecessarily, you also never want to put your health — or the health of someone you love — in jeopardy. Fortunately, once you understand the various capabilities of the myriad medical professionals available, that tough decision might be a little easier.

Doctor’s office/nurse line

It’s after business hours, but you just can’t rest peacefully without knowing whether you or your child should see a medical professional. At a time like that, it never hurts to call your primary care physician’s (PCP) or pediatrician’s office. If they offer after-hours care, you’re in luck. Health Affairs reports that just 29% of United States PCPs do so. And if they don’t, call anyway. They may have an answering service in place to help get you in touch with a doctor or nurse.

It’s important to remember that your health insurance provider can often help provide you with care and advice in situations like these. For example, this Nurse Line for SelectHealth members is a valuable resource for patients and parents with medical concerns. With 24-hour availability, this service gives you the peace of mind of knowing your recommended course of action.

Telemedicine

Today’s world is all about face-to-face communication — even if you’re not actually face-to-face. If you ever wished you could just Facetime a doctor, well, you probably can. Telemedicine is an increasingly popular option for those times when seeing your doctor is impossible or just inconvenient. Telemedical services are often available 24 hours a day and do not require appointments (though you may experience some wait time depending on available doctors.

Shutterstock
Shutterstock

So what warrants a tele-visit? Connect Care, a telemedical service from Intermountain Healthcare, provides a basic list of health issues telemedicine can address — and those it cannot. If you or your child is suffering from sinus pain and pressure, allergic symptoms, a sore throat, cough, eye irritation or ear pain, minor skin infections, burns or irritations or lower back pain, telemedicine may be able to help you.

That said, certain requests or complaints — like prescription refills, physician referrals or illnesses that require physical examinations, tests or labs — cannot be addressed via telemedicine. And of course, if you’re experiencing severe pain, bleeding, fainting or other “emergency” symptoms, you need immediate, in-person care.

Urgent care

It’s the Goldilocks of medical care: when you can’t wait until tomorrow morning to see a doctor, but the emergency room seems like overkill, an urgent care clinic might be just right. An urgent care clinic is a great option if you’re experiencing a minor, non-life-threatening emergency. This could include fevers, cold or flu symptoms, possible sprains or muscle pain or small cuts that may require stitches. If you’re planning a trip to urgent care, there are a few things you should remember.

Healthline recommends finding an urgent care center that accepts your insurance plan before you ever use it. That way, when you or your child is sick, you’ll be able to get help that much sooner. Additionally, always bring your insurance cards, valid identification and your medical history with you, since urgent care visits are often new patient visits.

Additionally, urgent care facilities employ a variety of medical professionals including doctors, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners and nurses. Depending on the facility and your ailment, keep in mind you may not actually see a doctor.

Emergency room

While there are certain situations in which you should seek emergency medical attention, there aren’t many clear instances when you shouldn’t. But since emergency room visits often come with long wait times and steep copays, you’d probably prefer to avoid them whenever they’re unnecessary.

Medline Plus recommends children and adults visit an emergency room when they experience trouble breathing, passing out, unusual or severe pain, dizziness, deep wounds and heavy bleeding, serious burns, vomiting blood and several other emergent symptoms.

Additionally, you should always call 911 (rather than drive to the ER) when a family member is choking, has stopped breathing, might be poisoned, has experienced an injury to the head, neck or spine, has bleeding that cannot be stopped, is experiencing a seizure, or you fear movement will cause greater injury or pain. For more information on determining emergency situations, visit Medline Plus.

Wherever you receive the healthcare you need, your health insurance provider is there to help you each step of the way. For help finding a doctor or facility, or for questions about coverage, visit SelectHealth.

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