Day: April 6, 2015

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How Urgent Care Facilities Are Essential in the Healthcare Industry Today

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The U.S. healthcare system is currently going through quite a few changes, and although the end goal is to make healthcare more accessible and affordable for all Americans, right now it seems like the exact opposite has occurred. Many people simply can’t afford health insurance and therefore never see regular family care physicians for health concerns; at the same time, even though more people are visiting hospital emergency rooms as a result, dozens of hospitals and ERs across the country have closed due to their own financial troubles.

This trend has resulted in more urgent care facilities springing up everywhere — not just domestically, but in plenty of other countries as well. The walk in health clinic trend actually began back in the 1970s, although it wasn’t until recent years that medical walk in clinics became such an integral part of family heath care.

The main benefit of going to one of these walk in clinics is two-fold: you can receive medical care much faster than if you went to an ER, often without making an appointment in advance, and you end up paying much less than what the typical ER bill costs.

Another important factor is convenience: According to the most recent data, there are an estimated 9,300 urgent care facilities in the U.S. alone, and there are about 20,000 physicians who currently provide medical care at an urgent care clinic. No matter where you are in the U.S. (and in many other countries as well), you’ll be able to find a walk in health clinic and receive treatment immediately, even if you’ve never been there before and even if you don’t have insurance.

And finally, it’s important to note that many neighborhood health clinics have turned into specialized facilities that can offer advanced medical care; many clinics provide services specifically for women, while others employ more pediatric doctors than regular family physicians. Additionally, most urgent care facilities offer a variety of services beyond just emergency care, such as lab work and STD testing, for which patients can schedule appointments in advance and receive care when they want it.

The average urgent care center certainly can’t replace regular doctors’ offices and hospital ERs, but it’s clear that these facilities are becoming more important than ever before.

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Did This UK Doctor Write the Best Doctor’s Note?

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No matter who they are, everyone has likely had a day where they simply didn’t feel up to their normal tasks because of a cough or runny nose. Unfortunately, if you’re going to take time out of your busy schedule, your boss or teacher will often require you to bring a doctor’s note in the following day to explain your absence. While these requirements are put in place to encourage accountability, an understandable quality, this can often be unnecessarily difficult. Now, it seems that one doctor in the United Kingdom is taking a stand: a caustic note they wrote to one employer is currently making its way around the web, delighting everyone who has ever felt unable to take time off.

In late March, a company in the UK reportedly demanded that their employee prove that that he had a simple cold. Fortunately, this unlucky patient appears to have one of the best doctors in the country when it comes to biting humor and righteous indignation. A picture of the infamous sick note has since appeared on the Mirrorand several other news sites.

“To Whom it may concern,”the letter reads.

“[The employee] has had, by their own report, a cold today and sensibly stayed home from work rather than spreading this to his colleagues/customers.

“I have no test for the common cold and therefore believe him, however you feel his time and mine should be wasted by making him sit in the walk in clinic for hours and me spending time writing a sick note that I could be spending on people who genuinely need my attention.

“Please reconsider your policy on this – there are surely better ways of wasting your tax dollars.”

The physician’s comments may seem a little harsh, but they have a point: walk in health clinics are often crowded, and requiring that a person see a doctor for a minor condition only extends waiting times for the more seriously ill. Additionally, there is no proven test for the common cold, and the symptoms can be easily treated with over-the-counter medication. Moreover, if a patient isn’t considered sick without this “proof”, it only increases the chances they will return to work before they are recovered and spread the sickness to their peers. For this reason, this physician definitely seems to belong among the best doctors, even if the distinction is only temporary or limited to the sardonic category among the best doctors.

If you think you are coming down with a minor illness, like a cold, in the United States, you should try to rest and take over-the-counter medication to soothe your symptoms until you feel recovered. However, if you need a doctor’s note or feel your symptoms worsening, you may be able to avoid long waiting times by visiting an urgent care center near you. These walk in clinics are designed to treat a variety of non-life-threatening conditions quickly, conveniently and effectively.