Urgent care centers are intended to treat medical conditions that require acute care. The illness or injury may not be an emergency, but it is still good to receive timely medical attention, especially for children. If your child starts displaying concerning symptoms of illness, hurt, or discomfort and your pediatrician's office is closed, an urgent care center will allow your child to receive medical care. It will also help you to get peace of mind. Here are three tips to help you get the most out of urgent care for your child.
Make a list of urgent care centers in your insurance network.
When your child is sick, the last thing you want to worry about is spending extra time finding out which urgent care center is in network with your insurance policy. Create a list of urgent care centers that are in network with your insurance policy. You may be able to find a list of those on your insurance carrier's website, or you may have to call local urgent care centers and ask if they take your insurance. You should also familiarize yourself with the services that are covered by your plan as well. You can keep this information on a post-it note on your insurance card, or save the list of urgent care centers to your e-mail inbox for quick reference.
Bring a list of medications your child has taken with you.
You will probably try to alleviate your child's discomfort prior to deciding to take them to urgent care. Bring in any medications your child has taken with you to urgent care. Any medications that your child has taken prior to their appointment may have an effect on the doctor's course of treatment. The doctor may also want to treat your child with medication during the appointment, so it is important to inform the doctor of any potential drug interactions.
Limit the visit to only one child.
You may be tempted to bring your other children to the urgent care center. Do not ask the doctor to examine your other children during your appointment. Urgent care centers organize their time in order to efficiently treat one patient at a time. If you would like to have other children evaluated, notify the urgent care center's staff so that they are able to block off enough time for the doctor to evaluate your children fully during your appointment. In an emergency, it's important to get prompt urgent care from a provider like My Health Urgent Care.