Your Health

How To Get Health Help And Save

Posted 4/29/2011

Tom Fogarty, M.D., believes everyone deserves respectful and individual medical care, especially when injured or feeling ill.

(NAPSI) - Many Americans may be surprised to learn they could be getting better health care at a lower cost in the following ways:

Considering All Your Options

The increase in health care costs and changes to the health care landscape in the past few years have made it more important than ever for Americans to understand what’s available.

Understanding Urgent Care

These days, many of the services that primary care doctors and emergency rooms offer are also available at urgent care centers. Like a primary care physician’s office, these places treat common illnesses and injuries including fever, coughs, colds and flu. In addition, these facilities are equipped for X-rays and lab tests and can cast broken bones, suture cuts and remove foreign objects.

The centers offer a welcoming environment and can provide care faster and at a lower cost than most family physicians or emergency rooms. This is important, considering a study by New York University discovered that 84 percent of people who go to the ER don’t have true medical emergencies and may pay up to six times more than necessary while facing an average ER wait time of four hours. Average emergency room charges may range from $750 to $1,250 and insurance co-pays are generally more than $100 plus costs of tests.

On the other hand, for those who opt to see a primary care physician, getting an appointment can often mean waiting several days or weeks, and that can allow the medical condition to worsen and require more complex and expensive treatment.

Urgent care centers, however, have experienced, credentialed medical providers with practical and specialized training in urgent care, as well as family practice and occupational medicine. Many centers have extended hours, walk-in service and posted pricing, so there are no financial surprises at the end of your visit.

Primary care will always have a place in the health care industry, helping to create relationships with patients and coordinate care for chronic health conditions. However, patients often need prompt medical care for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions at times when many primary care practices are unavailable. Following treatment, the urgent care center can report back to your primary care provider. Most health insurance programs now recognize urgent care centers as a place where patients can make greater use of their health benefits.

The Doctor’s Advice

The best way to provide care for patients is by making health care services convenient. Many times, an injury or illness requires treatment when a primary care physician might not normally be available.

Learn More

To learn more or to find a nearby urgent care center, visit www.concentraurgentcare.com or call (866) 944-6046.

• Dr. Fogarty is chief medical officer for Concentra Urgent Care, a subsidiary of Humana. He has nearly 30 years of experience and oversees Concentra’s Urgent Care, which offers physical therapy, travel health, specialist services and occupational medicine-it treats one in eight occupational injuries in the U.S. The company’s physicians and clinicians are experienced in rapid response treatment and participate in continuing education programs so they stay current on health care issues, trends and treatments.