When there’s a semi-emergency, it’s hard to know where to turn. Your child seems to have sprained her ankle, but you’re unsure if it’s broken. You have had a cough for weeks, and it suddenly worsened last night. The baby has a rash, and he’s uncomfortable and distressed. None of these conditions warrant a visit to the emergency room, but they should be checked out.
The first, and most traditional course of action, would be to go to an urgent care center. Patients who choose urgent care are seen in person by a doctor or nurse practitioner.
Savvy patients may elect to visit the doctor of their choice by using a telemedicine service. Telemedicine allows a doctor to see you in real-time from your home or workplace using your computer or mobile device rather than making an in-person visit.
Urgent care centers are care centers that are a step below the emergency room (ER) facilities. Urgent care is qualified to perform minor procedures, diagnose illness, and prescribe medications. Designed to take the stress off of emergency rooms, urgent care centers aim to cater to those whose condition needs immediate attention, but is non-life-threatening. These centers are often open for extended hours or even 24 hours in major city centers.
Telemedical urgent care can provide the same benefits as traditional urgent care by providing same or next-day appointments. In addition, these providers offer diagnostics for issues ranging from sore throats to joint pain. You will see a provider virtually on your mobile device or computer during a telemedicine visit. The doctor will discuss your symptoms, ask questions, and decide on your treatment. If necessary, patients can receive prescription medications or instructions to visit in-person facilities should labs or scans be required. The practitioner can even refer patients to specialists within the telemedicine group, effectively eliminating the long waits associated with such doctors.
Visits:
Telemedicine: Visits are scheduled online, and are typically same-day or next-day for patients who need to be seen urgently. Patients can make appointments with their PCP, or for potentially quicker service, a different provider with the soonest availability. Patients have access to information about doctor availability and scheduling via their telemedicine portal.
Traditional Urgent Care: It is rare for urgent care centers to take appointments, though some centers do allow it when specialists are in the office or when patients have to return for follow-up care (such as having TB tests read or follow-up wound care). Patients are seen in the order they arrive, with the expectation that more urgent cases will be addressed with priority.
Payment:
Telemedicine: Patients who are members of a telemedicine network have access to various providers who are available to consult online. These telemedicine groups charge a monthly or annual fee that covers all care. In addition, some groups feature a $0 unlimited consultation fee.
Traditional Urgent Care: Most urgent care centers take insurance, though it may depend on your level of insurance and whether the urgent care center is in-network. Some also offer a discounted cash fee for the uninsured, which varies by center. The average co-pay for an urgent care visit is between $25-$75.
Outcomes:
Traditional Urgent Care and Telemedicine Urgent Care: The good news is that telemedicine and urgent care have similarly excellent patient outcomes. Patients can rest concerns about not being physically face-to-face with their doctor; the same medical school education informs the care given by telemedicine practitioners as every other fully qualified medical professional. In addition, telemedicine is the fastest-growing way to receive medical care in the United States, with over 7 million patients joining this year.
Telemedicine is a safe, practical option when patients need to be seen quickly. Access to practitioners and the comfort and privacy of being seen at home make telemedicine particularly enticing. Whether you are elderly, infirm, or just feeling too rotten to leave the house, urgent telemedicine care offers the immediacy of an urgent care center with the peace and convenience of a video call.
To learn more about telemedicine for you and your pets, contact My TeleBenefit for information about joining our growing network of practitioners and patients.
