Hi there, I'm Kira Shepherd. When my kids were little, I spent a lot of time at the health care clinic. Children need an exam when they hurt themselves or run a high fever. Any other distressing symptoms are also best explored by a qualified physician. Thankfully, my local health care clinic always helped reassure me that the kids were healthy and developing well. I will share information about common diagnostic procedures and treatments performed at health care clinics. I will talk about alternatives, like going to the hospital or treating at home. My site will cover common symptoms and complications caused by a wide range of illness and injuries. Please visit my site often to learn more information. Thank you.
If you have to seek medical care after hours, an urgent care clinic is the best place to go if what you have is not an emergency. But if you see a specific doctor at a specific health care center that has an urgent care clinic in it, do you have to go there, or can you go somewhere else? Generally yes, although there are a couple of issues that may make going elsewhere less than optimal.
Your Insurance May Make the Choice for You
If cost is a major concern for you, your health insurance may end up making the choice for you. In other words, if your insurance would pay for the appointment only if it were at a specific health care center, then that's where you'd go, and that would likely be at the clinic that your doctor is at. The clinic may have additional locations that would also be in-network, of course, and you could choose to go there. So even if you preferred to go to a closer clinic, if your insurance won't pay for it, and you have to keep costs down, then that closer clinic would be out.
Transferring Records Would Be Easier
One big advantage to going to the health care center your doctor is affiliated with is the ease of transferring medical records and updating them. Most medical clinics and centers have at least partial electronic records now, meaning that a physician assistant at one location away from the central clinic can make an update to your record without having the paper record sent over. If you go to a clinic that is not affiliated, you'll need to request a copy of the record from the appointment and then send that to your regular doctor's office.
You're Not Legally Required To
Taking insurance and records out of the equation, keep in mind that you're not legally required to go to a specific health care center if you need care. If you have to seek urgent care, you need to go to the center that you think will be best, be that the one that's in-network for your insurance, the one that can easily get your medical records, or the one closest to your home that you can walk to if needed. Going to the health care center that your doctor practices at if you need after-hours care can be a lot easier in terms of continuity of care (especially because of the record-transfer issue), but you are not breaking a contract if you end up at the non-affiliated health care center down the street.
It's a good idea to become familiar with the health centers near you even if you prefer to always go to the one your doctor practices at. Knowing which might be in-network for your insurance and which ones handle which conditions makes you all the more prepared if you have to find a health care center quickly.
To learn more, contact a company like People's Community Clinic of Newberg.
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