Dr. Eboni Green
October 5, 2022
While an urgent care clinic is not an emergency room, it is still essential to choose the best one for cases when minor health concerns arise. There are many myths about urgent care that are simply untrue—remember, these clinics are crucial for sudden emergencies or when your primary provider is out of the office. Use our following suggestions for finding a clinic near you.
One of the most significant factors for finding a clinic is its location. It is best to be within 45 minutes of a clinic in case of minor illnesses, like a sick child with a sore throat on the weekend. You never want to drive a long distance to reach a clinic, so find one near your area that is easily accessible.
Give a quick call to a few contending clinics to verify whether they take your current insurance plan. You never want to be hit with a surprise after a visit when you get the bill in the mail and insurance won’t cover it. If you are still unsure, call your insurance company and ask what types of clinics and medical facilities they can cover.
Each location has various staff that could range from nurse practitioners, pediatricians, physician assistants, and more. Do you have children that need to see a pediatrician? While the clinic’s staff may not matter to adults, it’s important for parents to verify that the clinic can treat a variety of age groups, including young children.
Depending on the facility, you could see varying different services and treatments. While one urgent care clinic can perform its own lab testing, another cannot. Browse the clinic’s website to get a better picture of what services they can offer you so you can choose the best one.
Ensure that you feel comfortable in the clinic—if you don’t like one after the first visit, it is completely OK to switch to a different one. Finding an urgent care clinic is important for those minor health concerns when you or your children are sick and need quick access to health care.
