Sometimes it feels like the world around us is changing so fast and in so many ways that it is difficult to know why these changes are happening. The American medical system has seen significant changes over the past decade with the introduction of new legislation such as the Affordable Care Act. Here are three ways that Americans can continue to receive the high-quality care of medical professionals in this day and age.
Doctor’s Offices
Mixing professionalism with personal-level care, a primary care physician gets to know their patients on an individual level. This is a dynamic relationship based on trust; trust that the doctor has the patient’s best interests in mind and trust that the patient will follow the doctor’s orders in order to get better. Unfortunately, this relationship is not always open as doctor’s offices are often closed on weekends and evenings — this forces patients in need of urgent medical attention to look for alternatives for immediate care.
Hospitals
Hospitals are hives of activity that need to be prepared for anything at any given moment. A trip to the emergency room is so varied depending on the night that patients could be seen in a matter of minutes or hours for their urgent care needs. On top of that, the bills for hospital visits can be ridiculous with many patients taking their bills to social media to show their $15-per-pill Tylenol bill or $8 “mucus recovery system” (tissues).
Urgent Care Clinics
Walk in medical clinics are a response to limited availability and overinflated hospital bills that place profits over patients all too often. Around 3 million patients from around the country visit walk in urgent care centers on any average week. Although many are skeptical regarding the quality of care from these clinics due to their ability to see patients quickly with average wait times of around 15 minutes or less, there are 20,000 licensed physicians around the country who support and practice urgent care medicine to date. Many walk in clinics are open seven days per week and offer care capable of dealing with anything from minor injuries to fracture care and intravenous fluids in some cases. For those looking for an alternative to traditional health care options, urgent care is becoming the fastest-growing movement in American healthcare.
