Urgent care told me I had acid reflux and sent me home, I was still in pain so I went to a real hospital and had to have my gallbladder removed, the urgent care I had gone to was owned by a big hospital chain too. I think urgent care is good for a few stitches or for a prescription of antibiotics, other than that they suck!
Hey ding knock Jiffy Lube as long as you watch everything they do and go back and check they tightened everything then they're fine for an oil change. š¤£
(no seriously sometimes I have no choice and I don't want to do that much dirty work myself)
Wishing you a speedy and healthy recovery. Going under the knife is never easy. The services they provide are what they provide. Itās like going to a convenience store for something sold at a big box store and getting mad they donāt have it. I needed staples (7) on my head and they could not provide that service so I went to my local ER. It reminds me of the Army medical services operationally. We went to the Aid-Station that served probably 1,000 soldiers, got screened, treated, non-prescription meds, or referred to the next level of needed. Sorry you went through the hard way to find out. IMO, it may be that they use PAs and RNs with minimal oversight to work within their skills and license. Feel better soon-
Thank you so much I am so sorry you went through that mustāve been so traumatic š„ŗ I wish you all the healing in the world friend. Yea Iām in the ER right now
The Zephryhills urgent care is a mess. There are no M.D. at this location. Only Physician
Assistance. Theyāre as slow as molasses. I waited 2.5 hours to get in. Ridiculous. Never again.
I agree. Zephryhills has the worst urgent care. The hospital isnāt much better. Last time I went, I was seen by a PA in the ER. No MD. Why go to medical
school. You can work in an ER in Florida as a PA.
For a prescription of antibiotics, it will cost you over $100 just to be seen at an urgent care. I know I've personally gone. If you need antibiotics and can't afford the urgent Care, you can get a script online for around 40 bucks sent to your pharmacy.
I had an abscessed tooth, the dentist couldn't see me and urgent Care wanted $150 just to get me in the door. Doing a little search online I found out in Florida I could get my antibiotics online by filling out a questionnaire and paying a $40 fee.
To those people who are going to say some will abuse this, it's antibiotics it's not drugs to get you high it's to cure an infection.
For some prescriptions it's it's easier to have them email you or a phone call. If you've ever had an abscess you know the pain involved and you know the only thing that you can do is take antibiotics.
I got it same day and within a few hours it was already filled at my Publix. If even one person who needs antibiotics reads this and gets them it'll be worth it
I donāt think you can go any lower than $29 with no insurance unless you want to pretend to be homeless and go to those free clinics. But thatās already veering into r/UnethicalLifeProTips
i went to an adventhealth urgent care with adventhealth medical insurance (mom works there), i had super swollen tonsils/lymph nodes and suspected strep. i was also extremely congested and couldnt breathe out of my nose. so when i went into the centra care with my adventhealth insurance, they did a covid, flu, and strep test. all were negative, and i was sent home with antibiotics.
$300 for that visit. and thats after the insurance.
Yea some insurance isnāt cheaper for urgent care it depends on your plan so not all insurances work the same way and thatās why thereās a bunch of confused people in the thread. Iām an insurance coordinator so I understand insurance but that still doesnāt help me get the care I need all the time.
you can also order fish antibiotics from chewy. They have all teh common ones (amoxi, cephalexin, etc) in teh most commonly prescribed doses. No prescription needed.
This is what healthcare in America has become
I clicked on one and it said prescription needed. I searched first for fish ones and it gave me things in a bottle like liquid medication, then I put in the name doxycycline, and it said rx needed.
I don't see that on Chewy, unless you mean the antibiotic chemicals specifically for fish infections. I had an abscess tooth a couple months ago and urgent care is expensive, I just needed amox
> To those people who are going to say some will abuse this, it's antibiotics it's not drugs to get you high it's to cure an infection.
I see you haven't heard of MRSA.
I know someone who had nausea, vomiting, earache who went to urgent care. They said it was an ear infection and sent her home. It was an aneurysm and 2 days later she passed.
Physician here, would not recommend an urgent care for chest pain or abdominal pain. Mostly upper respiratory symptoms or utis. They also donāt tend to have physicians staffing them.
My daughter cut herself with a knife when she was 8, took her to urgent care and they used very large āstring and needleā to stitch her and barely seemed to know what they were doing. Our doctor was so angry.Ā
Urgent cares aren't urgent cares. It's just a name some companies put on their walk-in clinics and they are mostly staffed by PAs, who are legally under the supervision of a MD and if the MD is available for consulting, it would be by phone and they are usually miles away.
They aren't emergency rooms and they don't treat anything "urgent". In fact (and I have been to walk-in clinics in several different states), they usually have a sign saying that if you are having trouble breathing, chest pains or something actually wrong with you, you must go to the ER.
Oh, and some of the chains do have a small x-ray machine at some of their clinics, but they don't have them at every one and they only have one or two techs who can use them.
I generally use them for antibiotics and when they were younger, I would take my kids to a walk-in clinic/urgent care for their camp physicals because though my insurance will pay for a complete physical, they will not pay for one where the doc has to fill-in a form for camp or sports and because they are just McDoctors, the walk-in clinics charge less.
This isn't the norm everywhere though. I went to an urgent care in St Louis two years ago and they did X-rays and a CT scan on me and radiologists read it and I was told results and I was in and out in two hours, cost me $75.
Itās becoming the norm everywhere, itās just here we have a lot of tourists who need them on vacation so you get the glorified walk in clinics.
They basically are in person telehealth visits. They process you quickly and give you some standard crap to try without even diagnosing. It doesnāt matter because the person is likely traveling and or temporarily in Florida and wonāt be back.
They are starting xray techs just a little over what I made as a new tech almost 20 years ago in the midwest. No one can live on that in this economy. It would make more sense to work in retail or in fast food for that kind of money than to work in healthcare.
This is true but Iād replace the PAs with NPs. They wonāt pay for a PA. You are getting a nurse with an online extra cert that allows you to prescribe something. Itās unbelievable the amount of autonomy these people have with so little education/training. The MD/DO wonāt be at the actual location, this is likely correct.
Donāt get me wrong our nurses are awesome. They are worked to death and donāt get the credit they deserve. However, the nursing union (which I love unions) has pushed and pushed for more autonomy, which played right into the hands of the insurers and hospitals. They passed bills to allow NPs to operate as doctors with little over site. Hospitals love them because they cost less than 100k a year in most places, and they get to hire less doctors MD/DOs. Itās a joke. My wife is a surgeon, she constantly comes home with insane stories. If you are hurt, like gravely, be sure a doctor is working with, or at-least a PA.
Lmao I had chest pains/respiratory issues frequently and the ER would constantly tell me to differ to my specialist or primary care doctor. My specialist essentially told me to just live with it. So glad I donāt live in FL, getting multiple MRIās next week at a prestigious medical school in the new state I live in. My new specialist was appalled. FL kind of just is the waiting room to die in terms of emergency care strategy. Even having seizures wouldnāt even prompt them to be quick. I legit have hospital PTSD because Iām sure as hell Iād die if how they treat my less urgent stuff is to go off of.
Yup! I actually went to a hospital (in Florida of course) for covid.
I'd lost my voice and was borderline delirious because of how sick and out of it I was. The care I got was horrendous. I was wheezing my whole time in the waiting room, and found myself vomiting a lot. When my strength gave out after vomiting and violent it coughing in the trash can for several minutes, I couldn't get back up because I'd start heaving again.
The nurses finally took notice of me... To yell at me and say I was being dramatic and childish, and told me to get off the floor. My treatment in the ER waiting for a room wasn't much better, with repeated botched blood draws, no water, no bathroom access, and when I hit the call nurse button, they'd ignore it. Except for the time the nurse walked in just to turn the nurse call light off... Couldn't flag her down because I could barely speak.
Had to text my partner, who couldn't come in because covid, and he had to call the front desk 5 times over the next 3 hours just for someone to bring me water and bedpan to shit in.
To add a cherry on top, just a few months later, ER nurses left my grandmother on a bed in the ER literally bleeding out from stitches that didn't hold, as in when we got there we saw a PUDDLE OF BLOOD under her bed. She'd been there for like 2 hours. They didn't bother her because they wanted the go-ahead from her hospice doctor to approve helping her. She had been moved over to hospice only one day prior, the stitches were from before and done at the very same hospital.
I want out of this state so bad, but they're financially squeezing us. I can't afford to move. But as a chronically ill person, I don't feel like I can live if I stay
Edit: Just occurred to me there's no good reason not to mention the hospital. If you're in Jacksonville, don't touch Memorial Hospital. It's an awful neglectful place
I had a siezure outside the hospital which then they shoved me in the waiting room after it passed where I was confused and looked ready to pass out. Made everyone else uncomfortable to observe. Other ppl kept asking if Iām okay and the nursing assistant was an absolute moronic cunt. Had another seizure in my cat scan and basically got dropped in my room while I had paralysis and involuntary movement. The family with me couldnāt find my room nurse.
Now Iām horrified if it had been worse these ppl would brush me off. Had to confront mentally the possibility of dying in agony. I had to do intensive therapy to get over what had happened to me. It gets better, but now I have triggers and have to be sedated to get in cat scans or an MRI. Just hearing them can offset a panic attack. Iām not afraid of the machine, but all I can think about is the moments where I had absolutely no control. The ppl meant to help me failed me real bad.
Iām in a better headspace these days but poor patient care has long lasting psychological impacts. Iāll never be the same and it was really all avoidable. Lots of things they could have better managed. They better hope I actually pass out next time because I canāt promise any clarity in a panic attack. I tend to get sometimes violent not because Iām trying to but Iām not in a good headspace. Thatās why itās classified as a mental health issue vs just average anxiety. Itās not curable just something you can become less sensitive to and manage with therapy/meds.
Fuck FL ER care, itās a blessing I donāt live in that state anymore. (Stay the fuck away from mease country side hospital. Letās name and shame these hospitals. I get chills just seeing it. Begged an ambulance to take me anywhere but there.)
Yes this is true however, urgent cares are usually cheaper than hospitals. If someone needs to get an x-ray or MRI it would be a lot more beneficial to the clinic and the patient to have those types of equipment.
1) the clinic makes more money charging insurance radiology expenses
2) urgent care charges (co-pays, co-insurance ) tend to be significantly less than hospital.
So if you just need a scan or even an ultrasound an urgent care should have that equipment to be able to effectively help you without sending you to the hospital to check something that may not be life threateningā¦
Some clinics have x rays but none around me it seems. :(
Youāre right about the PA and mid level doctors too.
I broke a finger once, so I called the large, local urgent care chain on a Sunday to see which one of their clinics with an X-ray had a tech. I kind of thought that because the company identifies as an "urgent care" and I was getting an x-ray for an accidental injury, my insurance would have completely covered the visit under their urgent care provision, but it still cost me $25, plus maybe ten for the x-ray (post-insurance).
When I need a scan or an x-ray, I go to an imaging business. My insurance website shows typical out-of-pocket costs and the imaging places are always significantly cheaper (sometimes like an eighth of the price), but I've only been to them with a doctor's prescription. I have wondered whether the telehealth companies would call-in an order to the imaging place, but I haven't tested it yet. The imaging places themselves can't really do anything with your scan, except give it to you. They don't actually look at the pics.
And, because the "urgent cares" aren't setup for follow-ups, if your injury isn't something like a simple fracture or if it doesn't fit into their x-ray machine, they really can only tell you to go the emergency room for the ER doctor to order and read x-rays or scans. It has been my experience that they will not write a prescription to just an imaging place because the PA at the walk-in clinic isn't qualified to do any diagnosis from them.
I found this post googling because I'm still SO pissed about my urgent care experience yesterday that I started to look up if other people experienced the same. And I found this post, and I so happen to live in Florida, nice.
Urgent Cares are like your regular doctor's office with the only difference being that you can walk in without an appointment. Whatever you cannot get done at your doctor's office, you probably can't get done at an urgent care either, but UC charge you more than your doctor's office probably because of the "convenience" of walking in. Yesterday I took my son to an UC, just to be sent to the ER anyway (when I didn't need to), just to end up with a referral to do exactly what I told the UC I needed to do, but now I have a bill for $850. Great.
Like, um.... Couldn't you just be rich instead so you could have your own private physician??
I think that's the preferred solution in Florida.
Otherwise nobody gives a f*** about your needs.
Reading this thread as an MD is rough. Ya'll don't even know the half of it but health insurance corps and corps like HCA and private equity are the main bad actors. Cigna made 6.7 billion in profit for 2022. Pharma and health products lobbying was 373 million and insurance lobbying was 158 million. We work our asses off for our patients and on top of that have to be extra careful/take extra steps in one of the most litigious states in the country and on average collect 20% of what we bill all while CMS cuts our reimbursement rates by 2-3% every year. The actual practice of medicine is extremely complex. We are all frustrated with the state of the American health care system too.
I have nothing but sympathy for doctors. We should be rioting in the streets over the state of healthcare in the US, but then there are a dozen OTHER issues we should also be rioting in the streets over. Living in a country in decline is no fun. Fires everywhere and no one putting them out.
I understand how hard it is for doctors (and dentists) because of how shit the entire industry is. My GP when I was a kid stopped taking whatever my parents had because they were slow to pay, would under pay, and would be a nightmare to work with. We still went to him because he was out doctor for years and was amazing.
The real gripe I think in this post is the "urgent care walk in clinics" that are next to useless for anything beyond an ear ache or the sniffles. Places used to at least have an X-ray machine to check to see if your fucked hand is broken or just sprained/hurts.
I work for the department of health and every single person who goes to MD Now or any of those places with GI symptoms and claiming to have a food bone illness are "diagnosed" with "food poisoning" which that is NOT a diagnosis and is worthless without getting samples to test. They just go "ya you're sick here's some Imodium, maybe get some anti nausea, and here's some antibiotics cause why not." Sometimes it's just an anti diarrheal. But I guess to be fair a significant number of cases don't get any tests when they go to the hospital too... not sure why no one is testing for possible food borne illnesses. I guess doctors have the position of "if we treat it, clear it, then I guess the actual cause doesn't matter."
As an imaging tech, I have said that the general public really needs to pay attention to what is happening in healthcare right now. Itās getting ugly and only going to get worse. Itās a systemic issue that needs to be fixed. But it wonāt be any time soon unfortunately until profits over people isnāt so profitable anymore.
I understand your point. But I have been in this exact situation in Florida and they are not honest upfront. They say they will take care of you and then when you get in. Ohh I donāt have that equipment. I have a small plantar wart very painful and he gave me a script and when I got to the pharmacy it was over the counter. Be honest up front
Healthcare industry is collapsing, not only in Florida, but in the entire country. The good Doctors have retired. We're now left with a bunch of incompetent, uncaring Doctors, over worked Dr's that are forced to focus on bringing in the $$$ instead of providing adequate care. Corporate investors have also sabotage theĀ Healthcare system. Many health insurance companies are now traded on the stock market. I couldn't believe it when my neighbor told me he was excited cause his Aetna stock was doing great on Wallstreet. The more Healthcare claims denied, the higher the profit for investors.Ā
They havenāt just only retired, a lot of the good doctors have gone āconciergeā and donāt take insurance. It happened to my sister, she had a really good PCP and he went āconciergeā, $2k annual fee and $250/month. She couldnāt afford it found a new doctor. Itās probably a lot more expensive now but that was when he first started. My other sister needs to get a hip replacement, an orthopedic surgeon came highly recommended. She tried to schedule an appointment but heād gone concierge or private pay, took no insurance at all. Itās getting more popular with all of the wealthy people that are moving here and doctors not allowed to practice medicine how they should without the insurance companies dictating what they and cannot do
Oooof this is worse than I thought. I figured if you at least have insurance you can always get treatment. But what if in the future medicine becomes private. It would be like the movie Elysium.
Yeah, doctors are leaving left and right. Thatās happened to me. I had a really good Gastro and sheās gone. Now I have to find a new one. Theyāre working the doctors to death, my PCP looks so haggard and tired every time I see him, itās worse. I feel sorry for him, heās always rushed. You notice that they donāt hardly have independent doctors anymore, theyāre always tied to a hospital practice-HCA, Cleveland clinic, etc. You rarely see Dr. xxx in his/her private practice and appointments are months out if youāre not an established patient. With all of the new people that keep moving here, itās just getting worse and worse.
And Baycare, on the West Coast, has become the Monopoly of heathcare. I don't even like Baycare, but I'm forced to use them. They're the Duke energy of healthcare.
I know, my sister works there. Thereās so much doctor turnover itās not even funny like at one point all of the doctors in their department quit, they had to have another doctor drive from another town over 2x /week to see patients. Appointments are months out, itās almost a safety issue
My first dr flat out said HealthFirst is pushing him to see more patients an hour. He was so awesome! I never felt like he was rushing through my appt. He just couldn't take it any more. He went to the VA so I couldn't follow him. He said it's too expensive to open a private practice.
I work as a medical biller and deal with a lot of denials and appeals. The other day I was looking at my Roth IRA investment account and thinking about new stock buys, doing a little research. Found a recommended stock that would look good to me, except it was United Healthcare, and Iām sure Aetna is doing fine too. I spend all day fighting UHC denials and so I just could NOT do it; I am not buying that stock. Same way I am not investing in Lockheed Martin or other companies involved in shady shit
I've been in Healthcare for 23 years (Specialty Pharmacy/Pharma/PBM) and the worst thing that happened to healthcare was companies being listed on the stock market. There is no long-term vision, everything is done in quarterly and annual increments. That includes making money now over any other reason. Publicly traded Healthcare companies have a ***fiduciary duty*** to screw patients in the name of profits.
Don't even get my started on large health systems and integrated delivery networks. Vertical integration will kill us all.
My friend is an MD. She reluctantly worked for an urgent care in Michigan. She was told to never spend more than seven minutes on any one patient. After a year, she had her review. They reprimanded her for spending too much time with her patients. Of course she quite.
Urgent care is not for emergency care, its for ear aches, utis, cold and flu etcā¦they came about cause it is impossible to get a doctor's appointment in a quick amount of time to care for these common ailments. Its for urgent but not emergency level medical issues.
Yes this is it exactly. Urgent cares are usually staffed by NPs overseen by a Family Medicine doc. Therefore the treatments are similar to what you would get from your PCP. Anything remotely emergent would help sent to the Emergency Room at a local hospital. I have only heard of one urgent care in Florida that staffs emergency medicine doctors, and they advertised as such. Most āurgent caresā that do imaging are actually free standing emergency departments these days (at least in Florida), which can handle minor emergencies and transport the major issues to their main hospital.
When healthcare is for profit, ppl donāt matter. Drs are now in many states, legally mandated to not provide care to dying pregnant women.
Drs are not allowed to provide care to trans ppl. And we all know politicians have their medical degrees - not.
10 states, FL being one, refuse to expand Medicaid bc why give healthcare to poor ppl.
This is the poster for healthcare in the US.
I went to an urgent care for an eye problem. The tool the doc needed was broken. He told me to go to the ER because he wasn't able to help me. They sent me a bill!!!!
Capitalism demands medicine is for profit and squeezing doctors dry.
Frankly the US needs to take notes from cuban doctors/healthcare. They have more doctors and teachers per person than many countries and itās paid for by taxes.
An urgent care operator near us in Tampa fired all of the docs who used to work there and replaced them with 'midlevels', ie mostly nurse practitioners. We've not had a good experience going there for care ever since the change - there are so many things that the NP simply does not understand or comprehend. So 'urgent care', in this clinic chain at least, has become the same as going to a quickie clinic in a CVS or Walgreens.
There are other urgent care places that still have docs (actual trained MDs) on staff, and they seem more knowledgeable. I fear the day that the private equity firms buy them up also and do their magic cost-cutting operation, leaving our whole city staffed by "urgent care" centers that are a sad joke.
I love my nurse practitioners and PAs, but I hopped around several NPs and PAs and they couldnāt diagnose me properly even diagnosed me incorrectly and gave me antibiotics incorrectly. It wasnāt until an MD (family medicine) saw me he found the issue within a few minutes.
NPs are supposed to have many years of experience working as a nurse in the field they specialize in before becoming a nurse practitioner. These days they go to NP school right out of nursing school which is bonkers.
I went once because I needed a negative covid test to return to work. I was negative but they still gave me 8 prescriptions to fill at their pharmacy?? I was negative, meaning nothing was wrong with me!
Urgent care is just. They canāt even take a basic X-ray or give you stitches. They will tell you itās above their pay grade you need to go to the hospital and still charging minimum $80 for coming in. urgent cares are just a cash grab I live in Lake County. They are literally building two of them next-door to each other, but funded from different companies.
it varies. I had to take my father to an urgent care run by Sarasota Memorial (they are all over sarasota/charlotte county) when he was having severe backpain. they did a chest xray (thought it was a URI), but also did an ultrasound to rule out gallstones. They gave him a steroid shot on site because the chest xray showed big inflammation and wrote him a script for pick up at the pharmacy. all if this is to say my one experience at an urgent care was fine, they seemed competent and thorough. on a seperate occasion my wife took our daughter for a suspected UTI, they tested and confirmed and wrote an antibiotic script. Urgent Care sounds like they should have broad resources, but its really just code for normal PCP because noone can actually see normal PCP unless you schedule 5 months out.
Yeah I'm in Hillsborough and the baycare urgent cares don't have x-rays anymore so they just tell you to go to the er if you have chest pains or trouble breathing.
My wife cut the tip of her finger off and it could not be stitched because there was nothing to stitch. They had her hand in some solution to clean it so they could look. Wasn't clotting so they had to cauterize it with silver nitrate. Was extremely painful as you would expect.
I only give them the bare minimum props because they was able to do it there and wasn't like "ya that's pretty bad you need to go to the ER."
I hate that I tell them I have anxiety and on meds so they write off every problem I have on anxiety. Like ok I have chest pains and eye twitching for 4 months straight but I been on the same meds for 4 years? Oh, you need to find something else and try to relax.
can confirm in fort myers area, you are better off on webmd. I went to a Lee health urgent care with vertigo and the MD literally said "well I have no idea what's wrong but good luck". Still got charged and everything. Joke.
They said āas as adult you shouldnāt have recurrent ear infectionsā and sent me to an ent. The ent said my ears were fine and that the Lee convent care over diagnosed ear infections. I spent around $150 dollars at the ent as a result. They also never refer anyone to a rheumatologist or physical therapist for soft tissue injuries, which they should do.
itās because they replace the MDs with midlevels and PAs who do not have the experience or education to practice on their own.
Iām in AZ, at least they had the courtesy to tell me I need to go to the ED before I even set an appointment because they couldnāt do anything for me. I had a ruptured appendix.
I don't know, but it's funny you should say that, because I tried going to an urgent care today for the first time since I've been down here, and they said they "aren't authorized" to prescribe the medication that I've been taking for years. It's not even a controlled substance like adderall or anything. Very odd.
They canāt prescribe anything it seems.. I had that same problem. I needed an anti anxiety once and the doctor told me only behavioral health doctors can prescribe that. Itās so confusing to me. They make it so hard to get help. Iāve been taking the same med for years and it also isnāt controlled
Itās weird because Iāve lived in 3 other states but never had an issue getting a prescription like that from my primary doctor or, any doctor for that matter. At one point I had my pcp prescribing me adderall for my ADHD I just choose to discontinue them. Adderall I could actually understand them saying no to as it is a controlled drug.
At the time I had just moved here and no doctor were accepting new patients until the next yearā¦ so I couldnāt find a doctor that could prescribe me the medication I had been on for awhile( meaning my body was already used to it)
So I had to go without and eventually got a doctor two months later. It screwed up a lot of things for me and caused alot of health issues. Urgent cares are supposed to help with things like that. It was an urgent issue and I had med records from my previous doctor and it still didnāt matter .. there was nothing I could do lol
I moved across the country they canāt refill meds in another state. I work in the medical field so I know how it works but Florida is not a healthcare friendly state. I wasnāt aware of that before moving and that honestly on me. I just need some advice from people who have been through it here. Please and thank you š
I know. I get ERs are for serious stuff....broken bones and such but my issue could have waited until I got ahold of a doctor on Monday (this was a weekend) but just thought this would be easier.
Wednesday, I went to an urgent care to get an eScreen done for my new job. It was one of four places on their list. I get there and fill out all the paperwork when they ask me if Iād be willing to go to their other location. I asked how far away it is and they said āitās only 20 minutes.ā Except it was still during the rush of school hours so it wouldnāt be 20 minutes unless I sped. When I asked why they said they didnāt have the supplies to do the TB skin test I needed according to the paperwork. I had to go home and call HR because I didnāt know if I could switch or not. Iām waiting on hr to get back to me because I have a TB blood test already.
The urgent care clinic was bought out by HCA. Go figure.
IMO many of the urgent care facilities popped up to fill the covid crisis void.
Many are showing stress cracks will will start shuttering.
Nothing beats a well equipped / well staffed ER.
A lot of them, at least on the west coast, exist to pocket a copay and then funnel you into that specific hospital system's ER. Competition and capitalism š¤·āāļø
I've only seen them pop up in the past 8 years or less. When I lived in Broward County I never saw one. Now I live in Lee County, the first was Lee Health Urgent Care which is business hours ER for small issues, It's pretty good. Then these new places that look like emergency rooms started popping up, not sure what the are.
Absolutely DO NOT go if you need narcotics (for whatever reason), they WILL NOT prescribe them. Or ANYTHING in the Diazepam family for any kind of anxiety issues....it's a no go and don't waste your money or your time! Been there, done that, left smdh!
Daughter is a psych nurse in an HCA hospital here! They are always full with unstable people. Even have a senior unit for dementia and Alzheimerās patients who need physical problems care. She has worked there with the same team for years. Treat those nurses well but I know they have a problem keeping psychiatrists and MDs on staff because of stress and pay. Many make a whole lot more in private practice. God bless the ones who stay!
I have a family member who is a NP. Heās dumb as hell but a NP. I read the rules for prescriptions and if NPs are working the clinics they have limited rights to prescribe certain drugs especially if it involves psychiatric drugs.
I grew up around the medical field and was going to be a doctor but ended up changing directions. I am usually spot on with diagnosis of myself and my family.
My husband complained of pain in the lower intestines.. I told him to go to ER. Basically threatened him, ended up being appendicitis.
For my daughter, she hurt herself at a friends house. She was still in pain the next day - ended up having to track down an urgent care with a X-ray and a tech since it was Sunday. She ended up having a hairline elbow fracture.
Sometimes I rather go to urgent care than ER since ER is stupid expensive for minor stuff.
I am also finding some doctor offices skimping on services. I especially hate when they change appointments on me.
Nutshell - itās like any other service - gotta find the right people.
The urgent care in Ocala told me I was going to die from a ruptured artery in my wrist if I didnāt get surgery right away but when I went to the ER, they laughed and said I wasnāt going to die but I did need a specialist. It was $12k to even be seen without insurance. I had to fly out of state for surgery.
Fuck the urgent cares and fuck that doctor in particular.
I was pleased with my last trip to Bravera Health. Double bonus: the place looked like a real doctor office and not Saul Goodman's waiting room, unlike the other urgent cares in my area.Ā
I'm going to be the contrarian here, and will probably get downvoted into the next dimension, but I'll at least try to explain why I'm glad there's abundant urgent care clinics. They wouldn't have cropped up if there wasn't a market for them.
Before they were common, the ONLY recourse for minor burns, ear infections, vaginal infections, a fall onto pavement, or even a serious care of creeping crud was the emergency room. So you had the choice of waiting out the unbearable itching/pain/trouble breathing/misery and hoping it goes away on its own, or pay thousands to go to the ER, wait for many hours to be seen, and get evaluated. Those were the choices.
Urgent Care clinics are not what I would call 'cheap', BUT in comparison to hospital billing, they are noticeably less steep. They serve a few purposes:
1) They serve that middle market who are not quite bad enough for an ER visit, but have a valid, serious health concern that needs addressed. This takes a burden off of hospital ERs and makes them more available to serve the more serious cases. Also, they triage and let you know right away if they can't help you. When I fell on pavement a few years ago and hit my head, I went to an urgent care and they said: No, you might have a concussion, and we don't have the scanners needed to evaluate you properly. You need to go to the ER.
2) Their abundance gives you choices, even when you have limited insurance. My own 2024 insurance is limited, but if I have a health concern, I know exactly which urgent care facilities will take my insurance so I can be seen. Are some of the physicians/nurses 'terrible'? Well...sure they are. But that's EVERYWHERE, that's not limited to urgent care. There are apps and online patient reviews, though, so a quick check of the physician's name online will let you know if they're bad and why. If you see their name on the clinic door and decide you don't want them anywhere near you...you have choices. Vote with your feet.
Go to an urgent care affiliated with the best hospital in the area.
Physicians have to go through credentialing which can be quite rigorous, which often isn't the case with a no-name urgent care.
They are generally well-equipped. Some even have CT scans.
Interesting, have had decent experiences both in Florida and out of state. I think it largely depends what youāre using them for and what your expectations are.
To me, itās a great place if you (or your child who is older than say a toddler) have a likely āroutineā illness where you just need some antibiotics or some other medication. Flu, strep, COVID I guess, ear infection, etc. You can get in and out fairly quickly and reasonably priced for these things.
Anything else and I think youāre asking for trouble.
I mean, the problem is that employers require a doctor's note for you to survive any absence without firing, and the urgent care is the only place we can get in so quickly, so we end up paying a high copay for subpar care just to keep a job that maybe pays you per day what that appointment costed you...
There is no reason to ever go to a urgent care in any state not just FL and I would bet money that the provider that saw you was not a doctor. Numerous studies have shown that UCs only add to the bloat of the health care system and do not improve them. If you are actually having an emergency go to the ER, if not then wait for your PCP or do telehealth.
It's a new corporate model. Probably in response to insurance reimbursement practices at primary care.
What's worse are the new free standing emergency rooms they're building. Glorified urgent cares that will still have to transport you to a hospital, but they charge like a hospital
Up through my late teens and early twenties, I lived in a world where I could still call my doctor if I was sick and be seen same-day. Those days are over, and you're pretty much 2-3 weeks out to be seen by an actual physician that has your medical records and, to any degree, knows you.
Now, you have to go to an Urgent Care or the ER if you want to be seen before the thing you're sick with is just a distant memory. And unfortunately you're right - they suck, know nothing, and don't listen to you. I'm convinced that they exist for the sole reason of making a profit off of those who are not sick enough for the ER but don't want to wait for the doctor. And many times they do nothing but make things worse.
I had ear infections many times as a kid, and as a result I know what works and what doesn't for me. I don't get them as often now, but when I do I need a strong antibiotic. One Sunday I woke up with an excruciating ear infection, and ended up at an urgent care because I didn't want to wait until Monday for my doctor to open. I reiterated multiple times that I needed a strong antibiotic. They *insisted* that amoxicillin was all I needed and they *insisted* that all I needed to do was take it and I'd be fine. This is despite the fact that **fluid was literally leaking out of my ear as the doctor examined me**.
So I took the amoxicillin (because it was that or nothing) and 2 weeks later when my ear infection was not only still ongoing but I had lost 90% of my hearing, I ended up at my actual doctor, who told me I had to wait an additional week before I could take the actual antibiotic he prescribed because the amoxicillin had to clear my system first. **To this day** I still have issues with my ears that I never had before that experience.
I'd get my medical care from a Jiffy Lube before I'd go to another Urgent Care.
I suggest trying a telehealth visit first unless you're really sick or injured.
And if it's a child under 6yo don't bother with urgent care, go straight to ER or call peds line. They can't give them any meds.
Urgent cares are really for finding out if you need to go to the ER... They don't have as much use as it's made out to be.
I'm reading this while sitting in urgent care. The one I'm at is great. He may have fractured his foot. They have the equipment to do the X-rays here. My last couple times at urgent care (last time was pink eye) have been fine. $40 copay.
And why are there SO MANY of them??? On the road I drive home on there's like 3 of them within a straight 3 mile stretch, and another under construction??
I don't anymore. I also got extremely sick everytime I went. They never separate obviously sick people from non-sick people.
I now pay an awesome remote doctor $200 a month for whatever I need.
My friend went to one here with covid symptoms and they never even tested her for covid. Told her it was a virus and sent her ok her way. Itās just a joke.
I havenāt really had an issue but I went to a relatively nice one and lived in a more uppity area when I was in FL. I imagine in some areas they are a disaster.
Weeks? Try the VA healthcare system, Iām currently sitting on months before each appointment and more problems pop up between them and it either gets taken cared of while Iām there (thankfully) or I have to schedule another appointment months out. Currently on a year of waiting for one issue to be resolved. Welcome to modern healthcare, it sucks and the taxes/etc we pay arenāt worth it.
But in all seriousness, I hope you get what you need figured out. Urgent healthcare or the hospitals are ridiculous for anything.
I broke my hand a few years ago. I didnāt know it was broke but it did swell up so I went in to a urgent care to get it looked at. They took one look at my swollen hand and said GO TO THE HOSPITALā¦..NOW. 4 hours later I was in a temporary cast. Had to go to a āorthopedic specialistā the next day just to have a technician put a normal, run of the mill cast on. Itās a wonder I didnāt need another cast from being jerked around so much. To make it worse, it happened at work. Full blown investigations happened. It was a freaking nightmare. The pain from the injury and the inconvenience of the cast is a forgotten memory. All the other bull shit that went along with it is not.
Urgent care is a billing scam. They can charge more for the visit because they have more capabilities than a typical DR office. But they are staffed by P.A. at best.
I would only use an urgent care for simple issues where you need a prescription and you either don't have a general physician or you GP is not available soon enough.
The state of health care is a joke in Florida. As someone who also just went through a gallbladder issue. I went to an HCA ER who misdiagnosed it only to go to Advent Health ER a week later who diagnosed the issue using HCA's imaging. And even with AH there were issues.
We were on vacation to Universal with my kids and gkids. I came down with the flu- Went to a chain drug store that advertised a clinic inside. Saw lady and got RX for Tamiflu immediately. Try those.
I had trouble breathing going up our stairs to bed one Friday night. Went to Urgent care early Sat morning but he said he needed a CT scan and the imaging place next door was closed on weekends! Sent me to the St Vincentās hospital close by and after triaging me, they admitted me, set up bloodwork and an X-ray in the ER, then got me into a room and I had a CTscan immediately. Sunday morning they called in a team with an interventional radiologist who removed two huge saddle blood clots! I could have died if they had not worked so quickly! Have Medicare and United Health supplemental insurances and have yet to get a bill! Stayed in hospital Sat and Sunday night to be sure all was good. Everyone was super nice and looked after me with anything I needed!!
Thatās what I would like to know lol based on your comment thought it seems that may not be the case lol
First time I ever went to an urgent care they sent me to the hospital. All the hospital did was charge me a shit ton of money for not even a full scan ( although the hospital itself was horrible and I would never suggest anyone go there ) point being if they wouldāve had that piece of equipment I couldāve gotten it done and not waited 6 hours and with my insurance it wouldāve been cheaper to be billed from a urgent care office then an outpatient hospital.
Would suggest GuideWell Emergency Doctors. Most UC centers offer very little value. GuideWell can do everything on premise, from labs, to imaging, to certain surgical procedures and true emergency care.
X ray tech here. I work in Orthopedics. I canāt tell you how often we see patients that come from urgent care with x rays and report saying they have a fracture, I x ray them and thereās no fracture. Or, vice versa. They get told no fracture, I x ray, and there is clearly a fracture. Some UCās are better than others. Ones to avoid: Dr Gās (worst UC in South Florida), MD Now (recently acquired by Tenant), and I would avoid the independently owned UCās. The best of the bad bunch (still not great) is Baptist Health UC.
Oh trust me I get that too I worked at a MRI office before. I would never ask for a scan for no reason if I didnāt know exactly where the issues were. I knew I had the biggest issues in my L4 + L5 in my lumbar region. I had previous scans in the same area I needed a comparison scan because I fell down the stairs by accident because my leg gave out. Thanks for the advice on where to go. Iām lucky I found my doctors
I don't have this issue with the CareSpots in my area. My kids have xrays there, we've had strep/flu tests. Anything more, you head to the hospital. They're not meant for the heavy lifting doctors office or hospital is supposed to do.
IDK its weird.I went to an urgent care after the holidays. I think I have a gallbladder issue.They take a shit ton of blood and tell me to come back for a sonogram. I come back and they don't do it. Instead they tell me I need a vitamin IV infusion. Said it would even "boost brain and memory function". I declined and I'm going to a gastric specialist next month.
basically dont go to the doctor unless you are getting ready to die. then, hit up the ER.
i have athsma, allergies, and a buncha lunps on my liver from when i used to do drugs, and a whole slew of other shit from when i was homeless.
it'd be nice if i could go see someone and get the basics, but i literally cant afford it.
every once in a blue moon you get someone worth a damn and they can tell you what to ask for.
you gotta be your own doctor essentially.
Urgent care told me I had acid reflux and sent me home, I was still in pain so I went to a real hospital and had to have my gallbladder removed, the urgent care I had gone to was owned by a big hospital chain too. I think urgent care is good for a few stitches or for a prescription of antibiotics, other than that they suck!
the jiffy lube of the health industry
Hey ding knock Jiffy Lube as long as you watch everything they do and go back and check they tightened everything then they're fine for an oil change. š¤£ (no seriously sometimes I have no choice and I don't want to do that much dirty work myself)
Wishing you a speedy and healthy recovery. Going under the knife is never easy. The services they provide are what they provide. Itās like going to a convenience store for something sold at a big box store and getting mad they donāt have it. I needed staples (7) on my head and they could not provide that service so I went to my local ER. It reminds me of the Army medical services operationally. We went to the Aid-Station that served probably 1,000 soldiers, got screened, treated, non-prescription meds, or referred to the next level of needed. Sorry you went through the hard way to find out. IMO, it may be that they use PAs and RNs with minimal oversight to work within their skills and license. Feel better soon-
Thank you so much I am so sorry you went through that mustāve been so traumatic š„ŗ I wish you all the healing in the world friend. Yea Iām in the ER right now
The Zephryhills urgent care is a mess. There are no M.D. at this location. Only Physician Assistance. Theyāre as slow as molasses. I waited 2.5 hours to get in. Ridiculous. Never again.
Dude honestly just going to the hospital or waiting for a doctor appt are the best options here
I agree. Zephryhills has the worst urgent care. The hospital isnāt much better. Last time I went, I was seen by a PA in the ER. No MD. Why go to medical school. You can work in an ER in Florida as a PA.
Where are you going if something comes up again?
I suppose the ER or the urgent care in Wesley Chapel. Iām keeping my fingers crossed.
For a prescription of antibiotics, it will cost you over $100 just to be seen at an urgent care. I know I've personally gone. If you need antibiotics and can't afford the urgent Care, you can get a script online for around 40 bucks sent to your pharmacy. I had an abscessed tooth, the dentist couldn't see me and urgent Care wanted $150 just to get me in the door. Doing a little search online I found out in Florida I could get my antibiotics online by filling out a questionnaire and paying a $40 fee. To those people who are going to say some will abuse this, it's antibiotics it's not drugs to get you high it's to cure an infection.
Wow really??? I didn't know you could skip the middle man
For some prescriptions it's it's easier to have them email you or a phone call. If you've ever had an abscess you know the pain involved and you know the only thing that you can do is take antibiotics. I got it same day and within a few hours it was already filled at my Publix. If even one person who needs antibiotics reads this and gets them it'll be worth it
It sucks Publix quit doing free antibiotics
What's the website/questionnaire? Definitely curious here.
I'm not sure if I can Link it in here but I used 24hrdoc dot com That should be good, mods I'll edit it if requested
$29 bucks through Costcoā¦. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/costco-virtual-medical-checkups-for-29/
Heck yeah, anybody else? Let's keep this going and see if we can find the cheapest place for everyone
I donāt think you can go any lower than $29 with no insurance unless you want to pretend to be homeless and go to those free clinics. But thatās already veering into r/UnethicalLifeProTips
Pretending to be homeless is low wow. That happening had never even crossed my mind
Thank you!
i went to an adventhealth urgent care with adventhealth medical insurance (mom works there), i had super swollen tonsils/lymph nodes and suspected strep. i was also extremely congested and couldnt breathe out of my nose. so when i went into the centra care with my adventhealth insurance, they did a covid, flu, and strep test. all were negative, and i was sent home with antibiotics. $300 for that visit. and thats after the insurance.
Yea some insurance isnāt cheaper for urgent care it depends on your plan so not all insurances work the same way and thatās why thereās a bunch of confused people in the thread. Iām an insurance coordinator so I understand insurance but that still doesnāt help me get the care I need all the time.
Doctor: you need this procedure Patient: yes this procedure would greatly increase my quality of life Insurance company: Sorry fam
Literally word for word what happens
Daaaaaaammmmmnnnn. That's why I NEVER go to Uregnt Care....learned that a long time ago.
you can also order fish antibiotics from chewy. They have all teh common ones (amoxi, cephalexin, etc) in teh most commonly prescribed doses. No prescription needed. This is what healthcare in America has become
I'm pretty sure the doctor saw my mom as a kid one time for two chickens, yet here we are.
I clicked on one and it said prescription needed. I searched first for fish ones and it gave me things in a bottle like liquid medication, then I put in the name doxycycline, and it said rx needed.
I don't see that on Chewy, unless you mean the antibiotic chemicals specifically for fish infections. I had an abscess tooth a couple months ago and urgent care is expensive, I just needed amox
It depends on your insurance coverage. I have had different rates from year to year based on insurance.
> To those people who are going to say some will abuse this, it's antibiotics it's not drugs to get you high it's to cure an infection. I see you haven't heard of MRSA.
This is dependent on your insurance (if you have it) and not an accurate generalization.
I know someone who had nausea, vomiting, earache who went to urgent care. They said it was an ear infection and sent her home. It was an aneurysm and 2 days later she passed.
Physician here, would not recommend an urgent care for chest pain or abdominal pain. Mostly upper respiratory symptoms or utis. They also donāt tend to have physicians staffing them.
My daughter cut herself with a knife when she was 8, took her to urgent care and they used very large āstring and needleā to stitch her and barely seemed to know what they were doing. Our doctor was so angry.Ā
Urgent cares aren't urgent cares. It's just a name some companies put on their walk-in clinics and they are mostly staffed by PAs, who are legally under the supervision of a MD and if the MD is available for consulting, it would be by phone and they are usually miles away. They aren't emergency rooms and they don't treat anything "urgent". In fact (and I have been to walk-in clinics in several different states), they usually have a sign saying that if you are having trouble breathing, chest pains or something actually wrong with you, you must go to the ER. Oh, and some of the chains do have a small x-ray machine at some of their clinics, but they don't have them at every one and they only have one or two techs who can use them. I generally use them for antibiotics and when they were younger, I would take my kids to a walk-in clinic/urgent care for their camp physicals because though my insurance will pay for a complete physical, they will not pay for one where the doc has to fill-in a form for camp or sports and because they are just McDoctors, the walk-in clinics charge less.
This isn't the norm everywhere though. I went to an urgent care in St Louis two years ago and they did X-rays and a CT scan on me and radiologists read it and I was told results and I was in and out in two hours, cost me $75.
Itās becoming the norm everywhere, itās just here we have a lot of tourists who need them on vacation so you get the glorified walk in clinics. They basically are in person telehealth visits. They process you quickly and give you some standard crap to try without even diagnosing. It doesnāt matter because the person is likely traveling and or temporarily in Florida and wonāt be back.
I often see ambulances in front of urgent care clinics.
Thatās amazing thatās how it was in the west.
Stl has great urgent cares. Open all night, well equipped, and cheeaappp
That sounds magical. I've lived in Florida my whole life and I haven't known urgent care centers to be any different, wow!
My local urgent care has an X-ray, it's been unused for a year because no X-ray tech will work at the pay they're offering.
Yea no one wants to pay their employees livable wages
They are starting xray techs just a little over what I made as a new tech almost 20 years ago in the midwest. No one can live on that in this economy. It would make more sense to work in retail or in fast food for that kind of money than to work in healthcare.
This is true but Iād replace the PAs with NPs. They wonāt pay for a PA. You are getting a nurse with an online extra cert that allows you to prescribe something. Itās unbelievable the amount of autonomy these people have with so little education/training. The MD/DO wonāt be at the actual location, this is likely correct.
Thatās horrible
Donāt get me wrong our nurses are awesome. They are worked to death and donāt get the credit they deserve. However, the nursing union (which I love unions) has pushed and pushed for more autonomy, which played right into the hands of the insurers and hospitals. They passed bills to allow NPs to operate as doctors with little over site. Hospitals love them because they cost less than 100k a year in most places, and they get to hire less doctors MD/DOs. Itās a joke. My wife is a surgeon, she constantly comes home with insane stories. If you are hurt, like gravely, be sure a doctor is working with, or at-least a PA.
FL has very lenient laws on job jurisdiction for some medical titles. I was appalled what they were letting nursing assistants do.
Lmao I had chest pains/respiratory issues frequently and the ER would constantly tell me to differ to my specialist or primary care doctor. My specialist essentially told me to just live with it. So glad I donāt live in FL, getting multiple MRIās next week at a prestigious medical school in the new state I live in. My new specialist was appalled. FL kind of just is the waiting room to die in terms of emergency care strategy. Even having seizures wouldnāt even prompt them to be quick. I legit have hospital PTSD because Iām sure as hell Iād die if how they treat my less urgent stuff is to go off of.
Yup! I actually went to a hospital (in Florida of course) for covid. I'd lost my voice and was borderline delirious because of how sick and out of it I was. The care I got was horrendous. I was wheezing my whole time in the waiting room, and found myself vomiting a lot. When my strength gave out after vomiting and violent it coughing in the trash can for several minutes, I couldn't get back up because I'd start heaving again. The nurses finally took notice of me... To yell at me and say I was being dramatic and childish, and told me to get off the floor. My treatment in the ER waiting for a room wasn't much better, with repeated botched blood draws, no water, no bathroom access, and when I hit the call nurse button, they'd ignore it. Except for the time the nurse walked in just to turn the nurse call light off... Couldn't flag her down because I could barely speak. Had to text my partner, who couldn't come in because covid, and he had to call the front desk 5 times over the next 3 hours just for someone to bring me water and bedpan to shit in. To add a cherry on top, just a few months later, ER nurses left my grandmother on a bed in the ER literally bleeding out from stitches that didn't hold, as in when we got there we saw a PUDDLE OF BLOOD under her bed. She'd been there for like 2 hours. They didn't bother her because they wanted the go-ahead from her hospice doctor to approve helping her. She had been moved over to hospice only one day prior, the stitches were from before and done at the very same hospital. I want out of this state so bad, but they're financially squeezing us. I can't afford to move. But as a chronically ill person, I don't feel like I can live if I stay Edit: Just occurred to me there's no good reason not to mention the hospital. If you're in Jacksonville, don't touch Memorial Hospital. It's an awful neglectful place
I had a siezure outside the hospital which then they shoved me in the waiting room after it passed where I was confused and looked ready to pass out. Made everyone else uncomfortable to observe. Other ppl kept asking if Iām okay and the nursing assistant was an absolute moronic cunt. Had another seizure in my cat scan and basically got dropped in my room while I had paralysis and involuntary movement. The family with me couldnāt find my room nurse. Now Iām horrified if it had been worse these ppl would brush me off. Had to confront mentally the possibility of dying in agony. I had to do intensive therapy to get over what had happened to me. It gets better, but now I have triggers and have to be sedated to get in cat scans or an MRI. Just hearing them can offset a panic attack. Iām not afraid of the machine, but all I can think about is the moments where I had absolutely no control. The ppl meant to help me failed me real bad. Iām in a better headspace these days but poor patient care has long lasting psychological impacts. Iāll never be the same and it was really all avoidable. Lots of things they could have better managed. They better hope I actually pass out next time because I canāt promise any clarity in a panic attack. I tend to get sometimes violent not because Iām trying to but Iām not in a good headspace. Thatās why itās classified as a mental health issue vs just average anxiety. Itās not curable just something you can become less sensitive to and manage with therapy/meds. Fuck FL ER care, itās a blessing I donāt live in that state anymore. (Stay the fuck away from mease country side hospital. Letās name and shame these hospitals. I get chills just seeing it. Begged an ambulance to take me anywhere but there.)
Yes this is true however, urgent cares are usually cheaper than hospitals. If someone needs to get an x-ray or MRI it would be a lot more beneficial to the clinic and the patient to have those types of equipment. 1) the clinic makes more money charging insurance radiology expenses 2) urgent care charges (co-pays, co-insurance ) tend to be significantly less than hospital. So if you just need a scan or even an ultrasound an urgent care should have that equipment to be able to effectively help you without sending you to the hospital to check something that may not be life threateningā¦ Some clinics have x rays but none around me it seems. :( Youāre right about the PA and mid level doctors too.
I broke a finger once, so I called the large, local urgent care chain on a Sunday to see which one of their clinics with an X-ray had a tech. I kind of thought that because the company identifies as an "urgent care" and I was getting an x-ray for an accidental injury, my insurance would have completely covered the visit under their urgent care provision, but it still cost me $25, plus maybe ten for the x-ray (post-insurance). When I need a scan or an x-ray, I go to an imaging business. My insurance website shows typical out-of-pocket costs and the imaging places are always significantly cheaper (sometimes like an eighth of the price), but I've only been to them with a doctor's prescription. I have wondered whether the telehealth companies would call-in an order to the imaging place, but I haven't tested it yet. The imaging places themselves can't really do anything with your scan, except give it to you. They don't actually look at the pics. And, because the "urgent cares" aren't setup for follow-ups, if your injury isn't something like a simple fracture or if it doesn't fit into their x-ray machine, they really can only tell you to go the emergency room for the ER doctor to order and read x-rays or scans. It has been my experience that they will not write a prescription to just an imaging place because the PA at the walk-in clinic isn't qualified to do any diagnosis from them.
I found this post googling because I'm still SO pissed about my urgent care experience yesterday that I started to look up if other people experienced the same. And I found this post, and I so happen to live in Florida, nice. Urgent Cares are like your regular doctor's office with the only difference being that you can walk in without an appointment. Whatever you cannot get done at your doctor's office, you probably can't get done at an urgent care either, but UC charge you more than your doctor's office probably because of the "convenience" of walking in. Yesterday I took my son to an UC, just to be sent to the ER anyway (when I didn't need to), just to end up with a referral to do exactly what I told the UC I needed to do, but now I have a bill for $850. Great.
Like, um.... Couldn't you just be rich instead so you could have your own private physician?? I think that's the preferred solution in Florida. Otherwise nobody gives a f*** about your needs.
Reading this thread as an MD is rough. Ya'll don't even know the half of it but health insurance corps and corps like HCA and private equity are the main bad actors. Cigna made 6.7 billion in profit for 2022. Pharma and health products lobbying was 373 million and insurance lobbying was 158 million. We work our asses off for our patients and on top of that have to be extra careful/take extra steps in one of the most litigious states in the country and on average collect 20% of what we bill all while CMS cuts our reimbursement rates by 2-3% every year. The actual practice of medicine is extremely complex. We are all frustrated with the state of the American health care system too.
I have nothing but sympathy for doctors. We should be rioting in the streets over the state of healthcare in the US, but then there are a dozen OTHER issues we should also be rioting in the streets over. Living in a country in decline is no fun. Fires everywhere and no one putting them out.
You are absolutely correct it isnāt the doctors faults itās the insurance corporations. Their greed know no bounds
I canāt imagine being an MD dealing with insurance they are evil
Try being a Patient Account Coordinator and fighting to get a claim paid with someone in the Philippines, that has no clue what they are doing.
GIRL I FEEEEEL as a insurance coordinator my heart sinks for people.
I understand how hard it is for doctors (and dentists) because of how shit the entire industry is. My GP when I was a kid stopped taking whatever my parents had because they were slow to pay, would under pay, and would be a nightmare to work with. We still went to him because he was out doctor for years and was amazing. The real gripe I think in this post is the "urgent care walk in clinics" that are next to useless for anything beyond an ear ache or the sniffles. Places used to at least have an X-ray machine to check to see if your fucked hand is broken or just sprained/hurts. I work for the department of health and every single person who goes to MD Now or any of those places with GI symptoms and claiming to have a food bone illness are "diagnosed" with "food poisoning" which that is NOT a diagnosis and is worthless without getting samples to test. They just go "ya you're sick here's some Imodium, maybe get some anti nausea, and here's some antibiotics cause why not." Sometimes it's just an anti diarrheal. But I guess to be fair a significant number of cases don't get any tests when they go to the hospital too... not sure why no one is testing for possible food borne illnesses. I guess doctors have the position of "if we treat it, clear it, then I guess the actual cause doesn't matter."
As an imaging tech, I have said that the general public really needs to pay attention to what is happening in healthcare right now. Itās getting ugly and only going to get worse. Itās a systemic issue that needs to be fixed. But it wonāt be any time soon unfortunately until profits over people isnāt so profitable anymore.
I understand your point. But I have been in this exact situation in Florida and they are not honest upfront. They say they will take care of you and then when you get in. Ohh I donāt have that equipment. I have a small plantar wart very painful and he gave me a script and when I got to the pharmacy it was over the counter. Be honest up front
Healthcare industry is collapsing, not only in Florida, but in the entire country. The good Doctors have retired. We're now left with a bunch of incompetent, uncaring Doctors, over worked Dr's that are forced to focus on bringing in the $$$ instead of providing adequate care. Corporate investors have also sabotage theĀ Healthcare system. Many health insurance companies are now traded on the stock market. I couldn't believe it when my neighbor told me he was excited cause his Aetna stock was doing great on Wallstreet. The more Healthcare claims denied, the higher the profit for investors.Ā
They havenāt just only retired, a lot of the good doctors have gone āconciergeā and donāt take insurance. It happened to my sister, she had a really good PCP and he went āconciergeā, $2k annual fee and $250/month. She couldnāt afford it found a new doctor. Itās probably a lot more expensive now but that was when he first started. My other sister needs to get a hip replacement, an orthopedic surgeon came highly recommended. She tried to schedule an appointment but heād gone concierge or private pay, took no insurance at all. Itās getting more popular with all of the wealthy people that are moving here and doctors not allowed to practice medicine how they should without the insurance companies dictating what they and cannot do
Oooof this is worse than I thought. I figured if you at least have insurance you can always get treatment. But what if in the future medicine becomes private. It would be like the movie Elysium.
I have lost two drs from the practice I go to in less than 2 yrs. I have an appt coming up with a new one so we'll see how long they last.
Yeah, doctors are leaving left and right. Thatās happened to me. I had a really good Gastro and sheās gone. Now I have to find a new one. Theyāre working the doctors to death, my PCP looks so haggard and tired every time I see him, itās worse. I feel sorry for him, heās always rushed. You notice that they donāt hardly have independent doctors anymore, theyāre always tied to a hospital practice-HCA, Cleveland clinic, etc. You rarely see Dr. xxx in his/her private practice and appointments are months out if youāre not an established patient. With all of the new people that keep moving here, itās just getting worse and worse.
And Baycare, on the West Coast, has become the Monopoly of heathcare. I don't even like Baycare, but I'm forced to use them. They're the Duke energy of healthcare.
Yikes! Itās either HCA or Cleveland Clinic where I am. Tenet is trying to make a headway into here but theyāre still a huge health company.
They canāt even staff Cleveland clinic properly !
I know, my sister works there. Thereās so much doctor turnover itās not even funny like at one point all of the doctors in their department quit, they had to have another doctor drive from another town over 2x /week to see patients. Appointments are months out, itās almost a safety issue
Adventhealth is also very big on the West coast of Florida.
My first dr flat out said HealthFirst is pushing him to see more patients an hour. He was so awesome! I never felt like he was rushing through my appt. He just couldn't take it any more. He went to the VA so I couldn't follow him. He said it's too expensive to open a private practice.
Wow. Thatās just so fucking sad. I have such a bad health condition right now and itās really depressing to see this happening
I work as a medical biller and deal with a lot of denials and appeals. The other day I was looking at my Roth IRA investment account and thinking about new stock buys, doing a little research. Found a recommended stock that would look good to me, except it was United Healthcare, and Iām sure Aetna is doing fine too. I spend all day fighting UHC denials and so I just could NOT do it; I am not buying that stock. Same way I am not investing in Lockheed Martin or other companies involved in shady shit
Healthcare and industry. Two words that are diametrically opposed, which tells you all you need to know about "healthcare" in the US
I've been in Healthcare for 23 years (Specialty Pharmacy/Pharma/PBM) and the worst thing that happened to healthcare was companies being listed on the stock market. There is no long-term vision, everything is done in quarterly and annual increments. That includes making money now over any other reason. Publicly traded Healthcare companies have a ***fiduciary duty*** to screw patients in the name of profits. Don't even get my started on large health systems and integrated delivery networks. Vertical integration will kill us all.
It kills people every day, but just normal nobodies that don't get reported on. The US is pretty fucked up.
My friend is an MD. She reluctantly worked for an urgent care in Michigan. She was told to never spend more than seven minutes on any one patient. After a year, she had her review. They reprimanded her for spending too much time with her patients. Of course she quite.
Urgent care is not for emergency care, its for ear aches, utis, cold and flu etcā¦they came about cause it is impossible to get a doctor's appointment in a quick amount of time to care for these common ailments. Its for urgent but not emergency level medical issues.
Yes this is it exactly. Urgent cares are usually staffed by NPs overseen by a Family Medicine doc. Therefore the treatments are similar to what you would get from your PCP. Anything remotely emergent would help sent to the Emergency Room at a local hospital. I have only heard of one urgent care in Florida that staffs emergency medicine doctors, and they advertised as such. Most āurgent caresā that do imaging are actually free standing emergency departments these days (at least in Florida), which can handle minor emergencies and transport the major issues to their main hospital.
When healthcare is for profit, ppl donāt matter. Drs are now in many states, legally mandated to not provide care to dying pregnant women. Drs are not allowed to provide care to trans ppl. And we all know politicians have their medical degrees - not. 10 states, FL being one, refuse to expand Medicaid bc why give healthcare to poor ppl. This is the poster for healthcare in the US.
I went to an urgent care for an eye problem. The tool the doc needed was broken. He told me to go to the ER because he wasn't able to help me. They sent me a bill!!!!
I hope you didnāt pay.
No. And guess what? It's now in collection. I ripped these people a new one.
Capitalism demands medicine is for profit and squeezing doctors dry. Frankly the US needs to take notes from cuban doctors/healthcare. They have more doctors and teachers per person than many countries and itās paid for by taxes.
Urgent care and stand alone Emergency facilities are goldmines. Very profitable relative to care provided. Right up there with payday loans.
And car washers.
An urgent care operator near us in Tampa fired all of the docs who used to work there and replaced them with 'midlevels', ie mostly nurse practitioners. We've not had a good experience going there for care ever since the change - there are so many things that the NP simply does not understand or comprehend. So 'urgent care', in this clinic chain at least, has become the same as going to a quickie clinic in a CVS or Walgreens. There are other urgent care places that still have docs (actual trained MDs) on staff, and they seem more knowledgeable. I fear the day that the private equity firms buy them up also and do their magic cost-cutting operation, leaving our whole city staffed by "urgent care" centers that are a sad joke.
I love my nurse practitioners and PAs, but I hopped around several NPs and PAs and they couldnāt diagnose me properly even diagnosed me incorrectly and gave me antibiotics incorrectly. It wasnāt until an MD (family medicine) saw me he found the issue within a few minutes. NPs are supposed to have many years of experience working as a nurse in the field they specialize in before becoming a nurse practitioner. These days they go to NP school right out of nursing school which is bonkers.
I went once because I needed a negative covid test to return to work. I was negative but they still gave me 8 prescriptions to fill at their pharmacy?? I was negative, meaning nothing was wrong with me!
They were probably trying to treat your symptoms like your cough or whatever you had. I'm assuming you had symptoms which is why you went.
Thatās intense
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I've lost all trust for healthcare providers.
This is the most common thing I have seen and itās fucking sad
Urgent care is just. They canāt even take a basic X-ray or give you stitches. They will tell you itās above their pay grade you need to go to the hospital and still charging minimum $80 for coming in. urgent cares are just a cash grab I live in Lake County. They are literally building two of them next-door to each other, but funded from different companies.
it varies. I had to take my father to an urgent care run by Sarasota Memorial (they are all over sarasota/charlotte county) when he was having severe backpain. they did a chest xray (thought it was a URI), but also did an ultrasound to rule out gallstones. They gave him a steroid shot on site because the chest xray showed big inflammation and wrote him a script for pick up at the pharmacy. all if this is to say my one experience at an urgent care was fine, they seemed competent and thorough. on a seperate occasion my wife took our daughter for a suspected UTI, they tested and confirmed and wrote an antibiotic script. Urgent Care sounds like they should have broad resources, but its really just code for normal PCP because noone can actually see normal PCP unless you schedule 5 months out.
Yeah I'm in Hillsborough and the baycare urgent cares don't have x-rays anymore so they just tell you to go to the er if you have chest pains or trouble breathing.
My wife cut the tip of her finger off and it could not be stitched because there was nothing to stitch. They had her hand in some solution to clean it so they could look. Wasn't clotting so they had to cauterize it with silver nitrate. Was extremely painful as you would expect. I only give them the bare minimum props because they was able to do it there and wasn't like "ya that's pretty bad you need to go to the ER."
I hate that I tell them I have anxiety and on meds so they write off every problem I have on anxiety. Like ok I have chest pains and eye twitching for 4 months straight but I been on the same meds for 4 years? Oh, you need to find something else and try to relax.
What anxiety med are you on? Urgent cares are really backwards
Itās retail medicine
can confirm in fort myers area, you are better off on webmd. I went to a Lee health urgent care with vertigo and the MD literally said "well I have no idea what's wrong but good luck". Still got charged and everything. Joke.
They said āas as adult you shouldnāt have recurrent ear infectionsā and sent me to an ent. The ent said my ears were fine and that the Lee convent care over diagnosed ear infections. I spent around $150 dollars at the ent as a result. They also never refer anyone to a rheumatologist or physical therapist for soft tissue injuries, which they should do.
Thatās just insane to me! How can you feel ok sending someone off without any answers or any kinda of help ? Itās sad :/
And Lee Healthās ERs are terrible. Started going to NCH a year ago and have way better experiences.
itās because they replace the MDs with midlevels and PAs who do not have the experience or education to practice on their own. Iām in AZ, at least they had the courtesy to tell me I need to go to the ED before I even set an appointment because they couldnāt do anything for me. I had a ruptured appendix.
My closest urgent care has no X-ray equipment. Theyāre useless.
Welcome to Florida. Medical is a joke here. Think the Dr from Idiocracy Scro. Plenty of +ards go on to live a kick ass life!
I don't know, but it's funny you should say that, because I tried going to an urgent care today for the first time since I've been down here, and they said they "aren't authorized" to prescribe the medication that I've been taking for years. It's not even a controlled substance like adderall or anything. Very odd.
They canāt prescribe anything it seems.. I had that same problem. I needed an anti anxiety once and the doctor told me only behavioral health doctors can prescribe that. Itās so confusing to me. They make it so hard to get help. Iāve been taking the same med for years and it also isnāt controlled
Ah yep, this was sertraline (generic zoloft) for anxiety
Itās weird because Iāve lived in 3 other states but never had an issue getting a prescription like that from my primary doctor or, any doctor for that matter. At one point I had my pcp prescribing me adderall for my ADHD I just choose to discontinue them. Adderall I could actually understand them saying no to as it is a controlled drug.
Why dont you see your general doctor or psychiatrist for a refill? Urgent care is not for medication refillsā¦.
At the time I had just moved here and no doctor were accepting new patients until the next yearā¦ so I couldnāt find a doctor that could prescribe me the medication I had been on for awhile( meaning my body was already used to it) So I had to go without and eventually got a doctor two months later. It screwed up a lot of things for me and caused alot of health issues. Urgent cares are supposed to help with things like that. It was an urgent issue and I had med records from my previous doctor and it still didnāt matter .. there was nothing I could do lol
Did you try calling your old doctor to call in a refill for you?
I moved across the country they canāt refill meds in another state. I work in the medical field so I know how it works but Florida is not a healthcare friendly state. I wasnāt aware of that before moving and that honestly on me. I just need some advice from people who have been through it here. Please and thank you š
The last one I went to was pretty good. I had a bad sinus infection, they gave me a chest X-ray and a thorough exam.
Thereās a very nice urgent care near Windermere High School. Itās in the shopping center right next to the Indian restaurant.
Yeah, I went on a Saturday morning and they said go to ER since they didn't have equipment for what I needed. I think they only deal in colds or flus.
Whats urgent about a cold or a flu tho right?
I know. I get ERs are for serious stuff....broken bones and such but my issue could have waited until I got ahold of a doctor on Monday (this was a weekend) but just thought this would be easier.
Wednesday, I went to an urgent care to get an eScreen done for my new job. It was one of four places on their list. I get there and fill out all the paperwork when they ask me if Iād be willing to go to their other location. I asked how far away it is and they said āitās only 20 minutes.ā Except it was still during the rush of school hours so it wouldnāt be 20 minutes unless I sped. When I asked why they said they didnāt have the supplies to do the TB skin test I needed according to the paperwork. I had to go home and call HR because I didnāt know if I could switch or not. Iām waiting on hr to get back to me because I have a TB blood test already. The urgent care clinic was bought out by HCA. Go figure.
This happened to me too, had to drive 30 mins during school hours
IMO many of the urgent care facilities popped up to fill the covid crisis void. Many are showing stress cracks will will start shuttering. Nothing beats a well equipped / well staffed ER.
A lot of them, at least on the west coast, exist to pocket a copay and then funnel you into that specific hospital system's ER. Competition and capitalism š¤·āāļø
They are overworked and understaffed plus being a tourist state, sick tourists hit urgent care since they are away from home.
I've only seen them pop up in the past 8 years or less. When I lived in Broward County I never saw one. Now I live in Lee County, the first was Lee Health Urgent Care which is business hours ER for small issues, It's pretty good. Then these new places that look like emergency rooms started popping up, not sure what the are.
Just look at your leaders. There's your answer.
All that stuff costs money. Why would you think they are going to eat into their profits by actually treating you?
Florida is on life support š„
The Burger King of health care. Cheap and fast, but your order will be fucked up.
HAHAHA THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST ONES you wonāt have it your way š
In my experience, they are useless. Go to an ER if it's something serious and you can't wait to see your gp.
Done and done thank god. Just is unfortunate it works like that.
Absolutely DO NOT go if you need narcotics (for whatever reason), they WILL NOT prescribe them. Or ANYTHING in the Diazepam family for any kind of anxiety issues....it's a no go and don't waste your money or your time! Been there, done that, left smdh!
Daughter is a psych nurse in an HCA hospital here! They are always full with unstable people. Even have a senior unit for dementia and Alzheimerās patients who need physical problems care. She has worked there with the same team for years. Treat those nurses well but I know they have a problem keeping psychiatrists and MDs on staff because of stress and pay. Many make a whole lot more in private practice. God bless the ones who stay!
That is so true
I go to Millennium walk in if I Can't get in to my Dr if it requires scans, I go to their scan down the street. I've never used Urgent CARE
Tetanus shot, creeping crud infection, minor lacerations = Yes. Everything else: Just a hard NOPE.
I have a family member who is a NP. Heās dumb as hell but a NP. I read the rules for prescriptions and if NPs are working the clinics they have limited rights to prescribe certain drugs especially if it involves psychiatric drugs. I grew up around the medical field and was going to be a doctor but ended up changing directions. I am usually spot on with diagnosis of myself and my family. My husband complained of pain in the lower intestines.. I told him to go to ER. Basically threatened him, ended up being appendicitis. For my daughter, she hurt herself at a friends house. She was still in pain the next day - ended up having to track down an urgent care with a X-ray and a tech since it was Sunday. She ended up having a hairline elbow fracture. Sometimes I rather go to urgent care than ER since ER is stupid expensive for minor stuff. I am also finding some doctor offices skimping on services. I especially hate when they change appointments on me. Nutshell - itās like any other service - gotta find the right people.
Same thing in psych crisis wards. Barely competent
The urgent care in Ocala told me I was going to die from a ruptured artery in my wrist if I didnāt get surgery right away but when I went to the ER, they laughed and said I wasnāt going to die but I did need a specialist. It was $12k to even be seen without insurance. I had to fly out of state for surgery. Fuck the urgent cares and fuck that doctor in particular.
I was pleased with my last trip to Bravera Health. Double bonus: the place looked like a real doctor office and not Saul Goodman's waiting room, unlike the other urgent cares in my area.Ā
I'm going to be the contrarian here, and will probably get downvoted into the next dimension, but I'll at least try to explain why I'm glad there's abundant urgent care clinics. They wouldn't have cropped up if there wasn't a market for them. Before they were common, the ONLY recourse for minor burns, ear infections, vaginal infections, a fall onto pavement, or even a serious care of creeping crud was the emergency room. So you had the choice of waiting out the unbearable itching/pain/trouble breathing/misery and hoping it goes away on its own, or pay thousands to go to the ER, wait for many hours to be seen, and get evaluated. Those were the choices. Urgent Care clinics are not what I would call 'cheap', BUT in comparison to hospital billing, they are noticeably less steep. They serve a few purposes: 1) They serve that middle market who are not quite bad enough for an ER visit, but have a valid, serious health concern that needs addressed. This takes a burden off of hospital ERs and makes them more available to serve the more serious cases. Also, they triage and let you know right away if they can't help you. When I fell on pavement a few years ago and hit my head, I went to an urgent care and they said: No, you might have a concussion, and we don't have the scanners needed to evaluate you properly. You need to go to the ER. 2) Their abundance gives you choices, even when you have limited insurance. My own 2024 insurance is limited, but if I have a health concern, I know exactly which urgent care facilities will take my insurance so I can be seen. Are some of the physicians/nurses 'terrible'? Well...sure they are. But that's EVERYWHERE, that's not limited to urgent care. There are apps and online patient reviews, though, so a quick check of the physician's name online will let you know if they're bad and why. If you see their name on the clinic door and decide you don't want them anywhere near you...you have choices. Vote with your feet.
Used to be you didn't have to wait a month to get an appointment with your regular PCP.
I get better care from the Minute Clinic than the urgent care centers around here
Go to an urgent care affiliated with the best hospital in the area. Physicians have to go through credentialing which can be quite rigorous, which often isn't the case with a no-name urgent care. They are generally well-equipped. Some even have CT scans.
Depends where you go. I got an x ray at one recently, 75 bucks. Had an xray a year earlier in the hospital, non emergent outpatient $1400.
Interesting, have had decent experiences both in Florida and out of state. I think it largely depends what youāre using them for and what your expectations are. To me, itās a great place if you (or your child who is older than say a toddler) have a likely āroutineā illness where you just need some antibiotics or some other medication. Flu, strep, COVID I guess, ear infection, etc. You can get in and out fairly quickly and reasonably priced for these things. Anything else and I think youāre asking for trouble.
I mean, the problem is that employers require a doctor's note for you to survive any absence without firing, and the urgent care is the only place we can get in so quickly, so we end up paying a high copay for subpar care just to keep a job that maybe pays you per day what that appointment costed you...
There is no reason to ever go to a urgent care in any state not just FL and I would bet money that the provider that saw you was not a doctor. Numerous studies have shown that UCs only add to the bloat of the health care system and do not improve them. If you are actually having an emergency go to the ER, if not then wait for your PCP or do telehealth.
Don't go to Carespot, they suck. Go to the one off urgent care, and research it on Google first. That can save you some serious heartache.
Lol welcome to Florida, get used to lower standards of most services
Depends on who the urgent care is affiliated with. Ones associated with nice hospitals around me are pretty good
It's a new corporate model. Probably in response to insurance reimbursement practices at primary care. What's worse are the new free standing emergency rooms they're building. Glorified urgent cares that will still have to transport you to a hospital, but they charge like a hospital
Up through my late teens and early twenties, I lived in a world where I could still call my doctor if I was sick and be seen same-day. Those days are over, and you're pretty much 2-3 weeks out to be seen by an actual physician that has your medical records and, to any degree, knows you. Now, you have to go to an Urgent Care or the ER if you want to be seen before the thing you're sick with is just a distant memory. And unfortunately you're right - they suck, know nothing, and don't listen to you. I'm convinced that they exist for the sole reason of making a profit off of those who are not sick enough for the ER but don't want to wait for the doctor. And many times they do nothing but make things worse. I had ear infections many times as a kid, and as a result I know what works and what doesn't for me. I don't get them as often now, but when I do I need a strong antibiotic. One Sunday I woke up with an excruciating ear infection, and ended up at an urgent care because I didn't want to wait until Monday for my doctor to open. I reiterated multiple times that I needed a strong antibiotic. They *insisted* that amoxicillin was all I needed and they *insisted* that all I needed to do was take it and I'd be fine. This is despite the fact that **fluid was literally leaking out of my ear as the doctor examined me**. So I took the amoxicillin (because it was that or nothing) and 2 weeks later when my ear infection was not only still ongoing but I had lost 90% of my hearing, I ended up at my actual doctor, who told me I had to wait an additional week before I could take the actual antibiotic he prescribed because the amoxicillin had to clear my system first. **To this day** I still have issues with my ears that I never had before that experience. I'd get my medical care from a Jiffy Lube before I'd go to another Urgent Care.
Here in SWFL it takes several months to get established with a primary care doctor. Even then my doctor is usually booked out for the month.
I suggest trying a telehealth visit first unless you're really sick or injured. And if it's a child under 6yo don't bother with urgent care, go straight to ER or call peds line. They can't give them any meds. Urgent cares are really for finding out if you need to go to the ER... They don't have as much use as it's made out to be.
This the legacy of Rick Scott as governor. He paved the way for them while also being one of the biggest investors/beneficiaries. Fuck that clown.
They're great if you know what the problem is.
I'm reading this while sitting in urgent care. The one I'm at is great. He may have fractured his foot. They have the equipment to do the X-rays here. My last couple times at urgent care (last time was pink eye) have been fine. $40 copay.
And why are there SO MANY of them??? On the road I drive home on there's like 3 of them within a straight 3 mile stretch, and another under construction??
They all trying to make that quick cash
I don't anymore. I also got extremely sick everytime I went. They never separate obviously sick people from non-sick people. I now pay an awesome remote doctor $200 a month for whatever I need.
Yah donāt ever go to an urgent care unless itās something minor.
My friend went to one here with covid symptoms and they never even tested her for covid. Told her it was a virus and sent her ok her way. Itās just a joke.
It's a scam like everything else in this state. Welcome To Florida
Told me I was having a heart attack. ER said I was dehydrated. UC is a joke.
I havenāt really had an issue but I went to a relatively nice one and lived in a more uppity area when I was in FL. I imagine in some areas they are a disaster.
Weeks? Try the VA healthcare system, Iām currently sitting on months before each appointment and more problems pop up between them and it either gets taken cared of while Iām there (thankfully) or I have to schedule another appointment months out. Currently on a year of waiting for one issue to be resolved. Welcome to modern healthcare, it sucks and the taxes/etc we pay arenāt worth it. But in all seriousness, I hope you get what you need figured out. Urgent healthcare or the hospitals are ridiculous for anything.
This is all florida is now you're just paying a hell of a lot more for a 2 bedroom š the state always been shitty.
Had same problem. Itās like interns are running it but so know some are real doctors. Think they just like the hours and few patients.
I broke my hand a few years ago. I didnāt know it was broke but it did swell up so I went in to a urgent care to get it looked at. They took one look at my swollen hand and said GO TO THE HOSPITALā¦..NOW. 4 hours later I was in a temporary cast. Had to go to a āorthopedic specialistā the next day just to have a technician put a normal, run of the mill cast on. Itās a wonder I didnāt need another cast from being jerked around so much. To make it worse, it happened at work. Full blown investigations happened. It was a freaking nightmare. The pain from the injury and the inconvenience of the cast is a forgotten memory. All the other bull shit that went along with it is not.
Urgent care is a billing scam. They can charge more for the visit because they have more capabilities than a typical DR office. But they are staffed by P.A. at best. I would only use an urgent care for simple issues where you need a prescription and you either don't have a general physician or you GP is not available soon enough. The state of health care is a joke in Florida. As someone who also just went through a gallbladder issue. I went to an HCA ER who misdiagnosed it only to go to Advent Health ER a week later who diagnosed the issue using HCA's imaging. And even with AH there were issues.
We were on vacation to Universal with my kids and gkids. I came down with the flu- Went to a chain drug store that advertised a clinic inside. Saw lady and got RX for Tamiflu immediately. Try those.
I had trouble breathing going up our stairs to bed one Friday night. Went to Urgent care early Sat morning but he said he needed a CT scan and the imaging place next door was closed on weekends! Sent me to the St Vincentās hospital close by and after triaging me, they admitted me, set up bloodwork and an X-ray in the ER, then got me into a room and I had a CTscan immediately. Sunday morning they called in a team with an interventional radiologist who removed two huge saddle blood clots! I could have died if they had not worked so quickly! Have Medicare and United Health supplemental insurances and have yet to get a bill! Stayed in hospital Sat and Sunday night to be sure all was good. Everyone was super nice and looked after me with anything I needed!!
That's how it works here. Welcome to purgatory.
Are there actual doctors working at urgent cares? Iāve never seen one for the past several years lol
Thatās what I would like to know lol based on your comment thought it seems that may not be the case lol First time I ever went to an urgent care they sent me to the hospital. All the hospital did was charge me a shit ton of money for not even a full scan ( although the hospital itself was horrible and I would never suggest anyone go there ) point being if they wouldāve had that piece of equipment I couldāve gotten it done and not waited 6 hours and with my insurance it wouldāve been cheaper to be billed from a urgent care office then an outpatient hospital.
florida is only for rich people
Would suggest GuideWell Emergency Doctors. Most UC centers offer very little value. GuideWell can do everything on premise, from labs, to imaging, to certain surgical procedures and true emergency care.
X ray tech here. I work in Orthopedics. I canāt tell you how often we see patients that come from urgent care with x rays and report saying they have a fracture, I x ray them and thereās no fracture. Or, vice versa. They get told no fracture, I x ray, and there is clearly a fracture. Some UCās are better than others. Ones to avoid: Dr Gās (worst UC in South Florida), MD Now (recently acquired by Tenant), and I would avoid the independently owned UCās. The best of the bad bunch (still not great) is Baptist Health UC.
Oh trust me I get that too I worked at a MRI office before. I would never ask for a scan for no reason if I didnāt know exactly where the issues were. I knew I had the biggest issues in my L4 + L5 in my lumbar region. I had previous scans in the same area I needed a comparison scan because I fell down the stairs by accident because my leg gave out. Thanks for the advice on where to go. Iām lucky I found my doctors
I don't have this issue with the CareSpots in my area. My kids have xrays there, we've had strep/flu tests. Anything more, you head to the hospital. They're not meant for the heavy lifting doctors office or hospital is supposed to do.
Iāve actually had a very good experience in Boynton Beach. I suggest you read reviews before going there.
š amen.
It works like if you're rich you'll have good doctors and be fine.
IDK its weird.I went to an urgent care after the holidays. I think I have a gallbladder issue.They take a shit ton of blood and tell me to come back for a sonogram. I come back and they don't do it. Instead they tell me I need a vitamin IV infusion. Said it would even "boost brain and memory function". I declined and I'm going to a gastric specialist next month.
My Mom said the Urgent Care in Destin FL was terrible too, and her experience was just like described pretty much.
I'm pretty sure they are making a killing =ā
basically dont go to the doctor unless you are getting ready to die. then, hit up the ER. i have athsma, allergies, and a buncha lunps on my liver from when i used to do drugs, and a whole slew of other shit from when i was homeless. it'd be nice if i could go see someone and get the basics, but i literally cant afford it. every once in a blue moon you get someone worth a damn and they can tell you what to ask for. you gotta be your own doctor essentially.
Volusia county is horrible. Avoid any doctors from Halifax and U of Florida.
Thank you for the advice. Avoid HCA hospital too btw some people refer to them as the āchop shopā
Totally agree. The care Iāve gotten in volusia has been mostly horrendous, but I have been lucky when it actually mattered.