By Leon Yeh, MD, Vice President/Chief Medical Officer, Emergency Services, OSF HealthCare
In a world focused on speed, information, and choices, healthcare is responding to patients’ desires for convenient and quick access to care. In addition to emergency rooms for serious symptoms and urgent care facilities that treat minor illnesses and injuries, there’s now a third option for care. Online health care is available 24/7 for those with a device connected to the Internet. When used appropriately, you’ll get the right level of care for your needs.
Determining the best fit
Since health care isn’t “one size fits all,” the appropriate medical setting might be different each time you need to see a provider. With all the available options, it’s important to figure out the best level of care for your current health concern. Here are few guidelines to help you determine where you should go to get the medical attention you need:
You should always go directly to the emergency department for severe and possibly life-threatening conditions, such as chest pain (especially if it radiates to your arm or jaw, or is accompanied by sweating, vomiting, or shortness of breath), broken bones, uncontrolled bleeding, seizures, and head or eye injuries. Emergency departments are located in a hospital for walk-in emergency visits or can be accessed by dialing 911 for ambulance transportation. This is usually the most expensive option for on-demand care; costs vary depending on your insurance and co-pay.
Urgent care facilities are preferable if your condition isn’t life-threatening, but needs to be evaluated quickly. These clinics don’t require an appointment, are open daily, and offer extended business hours. A sample of the minor illnesses and injury conditions that can be treated at an urgent care facility include sprains or strains, poison ivy, vomiting, minor cuts or burns, skin rash, colds, and sore throats. The cost of an urgent care visit is based on the services provided.
Online urgent care clinics treat similar conditions to an urgent care clinic with the added convenience of being available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year from your smartphone, tablet, or computer. Within minutes, you can be talking to a provider about your health concern without even leaving your house. The cost of virtual care is usually a reasonable, flat fee. With most online urgent care clinics, if a provider determines that your medical condition requires an in-person visit with a provider, you will not be charged for the online visit. The providers can also prescribe medications when clinically appropriate.
Right place, every time
With a working knowledge of the available urgent care options, you can better match your needs to the right setting. Our goal as a healthcare system is to get you well as fast as possible, and going to the right source for care helps speed your recovery time without any unnecessary fees or delays.
OSF HealthCare provides all of these urgent care services to serve each patient with the best possible care. OSF OnCall is the virtual urgent care available to OSF and non-OSF patients alike on their smartphone, tablet, or computer. To learn more, go to osfoncall.org.