It seems like only yesterday when, if you were ill, you could phone the town physician, usually a lovely elderly man, who would then come out to your home and make sure you are alright. Unfortunately, the times have changed significantly. However, this does not mean there is no health care available anymore, just that the way it is delivered has changed. If someone is sick, or starts to feel sick, they now have access to physicians for which they have to make an appointment, and the emergency room. But it is now also possible to find fantastic urgent care Upper East Side NY facilities. Here, you can get professional medical help as you need it, when you need it. You do, however, have to figure out what to look for.
Who?
When you research urgent care facilities, you must make sure that it is staffed by professionals. In many clinics, the head is not a physician, but an advanced practice nurse. Depending on your state, this may or may not be sufficient. You have to make sure, for instance, that the advanced practice nurse is allowed to diagnose and to prescribe medication. If that is not allowed in your state, then you should find a clinic that is staffed by a board-certified doctor.
What?
Secondly, you need to make sure that it is actually an urgent care facility, and not a specialty clinic. At a specialty clinic, you can only get help for a certain problem. Rather, you have to make sure that any problem can be handled with. Generally speaking, good facilities are linked to laboratories, which means they can test you for a wealth of illnesses as well.
Where?
You need to make sure that the location of your urgent care facility is easy to access. If you are ill, the last thing you want to do is take a half hour bus ride, and you may not be fit to drive yourself. You need to make sure, therefore, that you can easily get to the clinic in a hurry if need be.
Why?
Then, there is the why. Urgent care facilities deal with problems that can also be dealt with by regular physicians. However, these physicians require you to make an appointment and are not available during unsociable hours. Good facilities do offer slightly more help as well, such as being able to stitch wounds or even deal with broken bones. However, if your injury is life threatening, you need to go to the emergency room instead.
When?
Last but not least, you need to know when to go to an urgent care facility. As said, in case of a life threatening injury, you should go to the ER straight away. If you have the sniffles, you can simply stay at home and get rest. Anything in between may mean that you need an urgent care facility, particularly if your general physician is not available when you need them.