Trying to find the nearest walk in clinic when you are already in need of one is not a good time. Chances are, whoever you are trying to get medical help for might be feeling very sick or is in a great deal of pain. The more time you waste trying to find the nearest walk in clinic to you, the worse they are going to feel. The best thing to do is make sure that you are aware of the nearest urgent care, emergency room, hospital, doctor’s office and any other medical facilities near you, before someone is in need of one. Here are a few things that might help you to decide on a good clinic.
It’s Proximity to You
There is something to be said for the nearest walk in clinic; ‘nearest’ being the operative word. It’s important that you are able to get to the medical facility quickly. You don’t want to have your child break their arm and then have to drive for the next half an hour to 40 minutes trying to get to the urgent care. You should be able to find a medical clinic that is at most, five or ten minutes away from you. This will make things go a lot more smoothly in the event of an accident.
How Accessible it is
Most good clinics will have sufficient parking. This means, if you find a clinic that does not have good parking, you might want to forego that location as your go to spot. If an accident occurs at home, you need to have the peace of mind that you’ll be able to pull up and run in. Looking for parking spots and trying to find a clinic that isn’t visible from the road when you are already worried and stressed out is never a good idea of a fun time.
What Conditions They Treat
Different medical facilities may treat different conditions. Most urgent cares will treat everything that is not a life and death situation. If in doubt, you can always take someone to the emergency room but you’ll have to be prepared to wait for a very long time if it turns out that the situation you are facing is not actually life threatening. It doesn’t matter how much pain the patient is in, if someone comes in with a life or death situation then they will have priority over you, even if you came in before them.
How Many Doctors are There
Urgent care has a bad rap of having a lack of doctors but this isn’t true. Actually, most urgent care clinics are owned by doctors and so they have a vested interested in the facility and in making sure that it is successful. There is always at least one doctor on site at all times in most of these facilities.
If There is a Wait List
Often times, there is a wait list to be seen. There are peak times, when there are usually a lot of people and then there are times when the place is less busy. Find out if the location is busy enough to have a wait list. If they do, you might want to find somewhere less popular.
If They Accept Your Insurance
One of the most important factors in getting seen medically is whether or not they will accept your insurance. The easiest way to find clinics that accept your insurance is by calling your insurance provider and asking for a list of clinics and doctors that they cover. This way, you can look for the other requirements only out of the options of clinics and medical locations that accept your insurance.
Don’t wait until you are rushed to find the nearest walk in clinic. If you are able to take your time and find something that really fits your needs, when the time comes that you need one, you’ll be able to quickly and efficiently get everyone into the car and over to the clinic as quickly as possible. You will already be prepared and know that you don’t have to worry about the medical bills or the kind of doctor that might or might not be available.
