Primary Care is Essential

[tczar7]

The booming business of urgent care facilities has been a great competitor when it comes to healthcare choices. In 2016 the Center for Disease Control stated only 51% of visits made were actually to primary care offices. As a registered nurse working in a primary care setting, it's easy to see why one would be attracted to the convenience of a walk-in healthcare service. But there are so many benefits to gain from a family medicine office. Nurses in primary care serve as navigators to guide you through the intricate web of the healthcare system. With the rising costs in healthcare services, using a primary care physician is a cost efficient and practical choice -- with typically lower co-pays and a more patient centered visit. We work diligently with the public's best interest at heart to consult with pharmaceutical companies to endorse cheaper medication choices as we understand the burden pricey medications cause.

As nurses we are cheerleaders to encourage you on your journey to obtain optimal health. As a patient once told me in regards to primary care, "Here you know my medical history and answer my questions. You focus on my whole well-being not just my acute situation." So while yes, urgent care can get you in and out quickly, family medicine aims to do more. Instead of just being a number in the assembly line of urgent care, family medicine builds a relationship and partnership with patients to achieve the common goal of a healthier community.

[CoryGreene]

That was really informative. Thanks for sharing the info.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

make primary care more accessible on an urgent basis. good luck

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

make primary care more accessible on an urgent basis. good luck

This. Soon-to-be single mom of 5 here; I need to go to the clinic when it works for me... not make an appointment for the following week, or same-day but during my five-children-in-3-schools pickup time.

So as we did the past few weeks as my 5 yr old had a raging ear infection, my 7 yr old had pneumonia, and my 16 yr old endurance athlete needed a provider's order to start seeing a PT.... I went through the urgent care section of our clinic.

As for the nursing angle, my clinic is actually the only one I am aware of in my area where I actually even SEE a nurse. The others might have nurses for triage or care coordination or whatever, but I have only seen MA's.

I totally agree with you in principle though; ideally all care could be obtained through a "medical home."

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

Urgent Care will see me without an appointment. Urgent Care is open after 5, and on weekends.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

my family doc, back in the day saw patients five days a week, at least, 1/2 day, I think on wed and sat. his phone rang thru to his house in off hours. and there was established coverage when he was not available. on the other hand, his son was a year ahead of me in HS and went to Rensselaer poly tech for engineering, absolutely refused to be a doc.

[River&MountainRN, ADN, RN]

Unfortunately, Primary Care around here is nothing but McDoc (ala McDonalds)..."treat 'em" (well, maybe) and street 'em" is the mentality. Forget personal relationships when the docs are encouraged to double-book on the 15 minute slot and see 29+ patients per day! The most money for the corporate overlords is to be found in Medicare annual wellness visits, so let's book as many of these per day that we can and try to fit Great Aunt Louise or Grandma Thelma's life histories into 5 minutes' worth of the doctor's time, write them a bunch of prescriptions that run the risk of polypharmacy because they couldn't remember (or weren't given enough time to remember) what their multiple other specialists have given to them (and there's no time for staff or MD to call their pharmacy to verify their med list), and let's run an EKG on them at every appointment whether they have a cardiac history or not. Yes, you may be able to get a same-day appointment with *someone* in the multi-office practice, but they're not going to know your history and half the time they don't even give you the time to fully voice your chief complaint. Most of the docs end up leaving to go elsewhere and the ones who stay usually have almost a full year totally booked at any time, aside from last minute cancellations because they've found a rare way to make this system work best for them and their patients. Having been both a nurse and a patient with these sorts of practices, I am painfully disillusioned with Primary Care.

[LovingLife123]

I agree that we all need PCPs. But it's an accessibility issue for so many. My kids pediatrician office does a wonderful job at this. It's why I never have to take them to an urgent care. If they are sick, I have an appointment that morning. They are open Saturdays, Sundays, and some holidays. They have a mixture of MAs and RNs.

My own PCP though, I can't get in sometimes for weeks when I'm sick. Seeing as how I have a job, I have to go to urgent care and get that antibiotic when needed.

I love my PCP though. He's wonderful. But not someone I see when I'm acutely sick.