When you have a sore throat or runny nose, your first instinct might be to give your doctor a call, and you’d be right. Doctors treat a wide range of conditions. Your primary care physician or PCP holds the title of “primary” because she’s the person you’ll see for routine visits or run-of-the-mill symptoms. When you fill out a form at the emergency room or a specialist’s practice, you’ll be asked about your PCP because the facility wants to know who’s been managing your medical care.
Your doctor might see you once a year for a physical and lab work. If you have a medical condition such as diabetes, asthma or hypertension, you might see him more often. Still, you won’t visit your doctor often because physicians primarily focus on maintenance and prevention. They see a lot of patients. In fact, you might be surprised by just how many patients your general physician sees each week. According to a survey conducted in 2013 by the American Academy of Family Physicians and
reported on by The Washington Post:
- Each general practitioner manages care for 2,367 patients.
- Family physicians see about 19 patients every day and spend around 22 minutes with each person. This adds up to just over 93 patients and 34 hours per week in direct contact.
If you feel rushed at the doctor’s office, then there’s a reason. Your doctor only has so much time to see you, assess your symptoms and prescribe treatment before her next patient arrives. Meanwhile, there are probably two or three exam rooms filled with other patients who have been there for twice as long as you have. Not only will you wait a while to see your overtaxed PCP, but you’ll also pay $20 to $30 depending on why you’re there. The doctor will bill your insurance company around $200 for your brief 10-minute visit. In addition to your PCP, there are two other major sources of medical care available today: an emergency room and an urgent care facility.
An Emergency Room
Emergency rooms are for people experiencing obvious signs of trauma or symptoms that need immediate medical attention. If you or someone you’re with experiences chest pain, difficulty breathing or stroke symptoms, then it’s time to call 9-1-1. Major trauma, including burns and severe lacerations, also demands a trip to the ER. Emergency rooms are equipped to handle a variety of medical conditions and concerns. They’re also usually attached to hospitals for convenient access to medical personnel and surgical units. Staffed with specialists who are trained in trauma care, ERs offer your best choice for life-threatening situations. Unfortunately, many people use the ER when they could use an urgent care center instead, which we’ll discuss in the final section.
Because emergency departments staff a lot of medical personnel and house extremely expensive equipment, your bill for a trip to the ER will be high. According to FairHealthConsumer.org, a visit to an in-network emergency room
might cost $1,000 for routine care. If you decide to see an ER doctor, and he determines that your situation isn’t actually an immediate threat, then you may be stuck with the full cost of your treatment.
Even if your insurance covers ER visits, you may want to read the fine print on your policy. Some insurers won’t cover non-emergency care that you get at an ER. Many major medical plans only cover emergency care that’s actually an emergency. In other words, it needs to be life-threatening or land you in the hospital. True emergencies will be covered after you meet your deductible and pay the co-pay, which can cost $100 or more per visit.
You also need to consider your symptoms carefully. Hospitals prioritize patients based on the severity of the condition or symptoms. It might seem obvious that someone with a bone sticking out of his leg would see a doctor immediately, but if the ER is overcrowded and there’s a woman exhibiting signs of a heart attack, then the woman will be seen first. You might wait hours to see a doctor even if your symptoms are severe. These facts shouldn’t deter you from seeking emergency care when it’s warranted, but there is an alternative form of care for non-life-threatening emergency situations.
Your Local Walk-in Clinic
Sometimes referred to as walk-in clinics, urgent care facilities offer a bridge between primary and emergency care. These places provide convenient treatment options for when you break your arm, pass out unexpectedly, get cut enough to need stitches or think you might have a urinary tract infection. Contrary to what you might think, urgent care centers staff real doctors who are also trained in emergency or trauma care. These facilities carry limited diagnostic equipment, but they can perform X-rays and EKGs, which are two of the major diagnostic tools used by most medical professionals.
Above, we mentioned that a trip to the ER for routine care could cost you $1,000 if your insurance doesn’t cover the treatment. That same care from a walk-in clinic will cost only your co-pay. FairHealthConsumer.org lists $20 in co-pay costs, but today’s insurance plans may up the charge to $50 since urgent care centers can be classified as specialty care. Still, $50 is a lot easier to deal with than $1,000 if you’re getting the same level of treatment.
Like emergency rooms, urgent care practices are also open during times when your primary care doctor’s office is closed. Most PCPs hold standard business hours of Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. They may even close early on Fridays. Very few doctors hold weekend hours even in emergencies. ERs offer 24/7 availability, but long wait times and the high cost of care can be prohibitive. Urgent care centers rectify the situation. In addition to being affordable, they’re usually open during evenings and weekends.
You’ll also spend significantly less time in the waiting room of an urgent care practice than you would at the ER. A recent survey reported that nearly 70 percent of urgent care centers have a wait time of 20 minutes or less, and only 3 percent report a wait time of longer than 40 minutes. If you’ve got a sprained ankle or a suspicious rash, then you don’t want to wait for four hours at the ER to get it treated. Urgent care centers can provide comparable treatment for a fraction of the cost.
