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Taking A Look At Important Preventative Health Care Measures To Take

The care and keeping of your health is a hugely important thing. Fortunately, there are many steps that you can take to ensure that you stay in good health throughout the duration of your life. Old or young, it is never too early or too late to begin taking preventative measures for your healthcare. As a matter of fact, taking such measures might end up being one of the best things that you can do.

For one thing, eating a healthy and balanced diet is something that is likely to go a long way in the overall care and keeping of your health. After all, the consumption of too much junk food and fast food has been linked to a number of issues regarding health. Not only can it cause unhealthy levels of weight gain, but it can lead to various nutritional deficiencies as well, something that can have a larger impact on overall health, as you might already know.

In addition to this, regular physical movement is critical as well. For many people, a sedentary lifestyle is one that has

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Did You Make It Through the Weekend Without Any Health Emergencies?

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This was not how you expected to spend your Sunday, but when your husband slipped off the bottom rung of the ladder while putting up Christmas lights all of the plans for the day changed Fortunately, you were home when he got hurt and heard him calling for help. You had just returned form church and your husband had just finished stringing lights around the last of the boulevard trees when the misstep occurred. You bit your tongue and did joke that the fall is what he got for skipping church and staying home and working on Christmas lights.
With a choice of urgent care locations, you did not need to travel too far from your neighborhood to get the medical help that your husband needed. Within an hour, your the doctor had ordered an x-ray, confirmed that the ankle was just a bad sprain, but not broken. With orders to go home and to ice and elevate his foot, the rest of the plans that your husband had for the day were now put on the back burner.
Where Do You Go When You Need Medical Attention?
From sprained ankles to stomach pain and from flu shots to fracture care, many urgent care locations provide convenient, affordable, and, most of all, reliable care. Consider some of these facts and figures about the urgent care platform and the services they provide, as well as the reasons that so many people go to these places for care:

  • 20,000 physicians who practice Urgent Care Medicine today.
  • 3 million patients visit urgent care clinics each week, according to the Urgent Care Association of America.
  • 80% of urgent care centers provide fracture care.
  • 85% of urgent care centers are open every day of the week.
  • Affecting 70% of the nation’s population at sometime in their lives, dizziness is the second most common complaint heard in doctor’s offices.
  • Upper respiratory conditions are the most common diagnosis in an urgent care center, and wound repair is the most common procedure in the year 2012.

If you find yourself having more trouble than you expected hanging up this year’s Christmas lights, make sure that you get the care that you need to so that you can get back in the holiday spirit sooner, rather than later.

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Have You Been Injured While You Are on Vacation?

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Both you and your husband had a great time posting comments on the church website.
As the daily blogs were posted showing the youth group’s mission work this week, you enjoyed looking for glimpses and listening for sound bites of your 15 year old daughter on her first trip to complete construction work, painting, and other odd jobs for residents who were in need of some help. Even your son got into the job of writing about the way the whole family had decided to redecorate his sister’s room in her absence. He enjoyed telling his younger sister that the lime green and pink walls of her youth were now gone and that the dark shade of brown looked much more mature. The teasing comments had the three of you back home brainstorming other ways that you could torture the youngest member of the family while she was away.
All teasing aside, however, you really were serious when you told your daughter before she left that she was not allowed to climb any extension ladders on this trip. You wanted her back home, safe and in one piece. You were more than concerned, then, when the youth director called to say that he was taking your daughter into the local urgent care clinic. He explained that although she had not been on a high extension ladder, she had fallen off a three foot step stool when she was painting some outside gutter work. the director went on to explain that it looked like your daughter’s right ankle was just sprained and not broken, but he assured you that he would call you as soon as they had the report from the urgent care clinic staff.
That day, you found it difficult to post any funny comments, but you were thankful that she was in good hands.
Urgent Care Clinics Provide Immediate, Affordable, and Quality Care
Whether you are at home or on the road, it is reassuring to know that at any time of day or night you can find a medical walk in clinic when you need it. In fact, there are currently 20,000 physicians who practice urgent care medicine today. Providing their services outside of traditional physician and hospital emergency room settings, these urgent care clinic doctors are still well qualified
Consider some of these other reassuring facts about the urgent care and walk in clinic platform that is serving as increasing number of Americans as they look for today’s affordable health care solutions:

  • 80% of urgent care centers provide fracture care. In most cases, in fact, getting an x-ray at an urgent care center is faster and more affordable. Once the x-ray is taken, qualified doctors are able to determine the necessary next step.
  • 80% of ankle sprains are a result of the inward rolling of the ankle. In medical terms, this is often called an inversion.
  • Approximately 3 million patients visit walk in clinics each week, according to the Urgent Care Association of America.
  • 85% of urgent care centers are open seven days a week.
  • Wound repair was the second most common diagnosis in an urgent care center in the year 2012.
  • Walk in clinic care is faster than getting an appointment with your family physician or pediatrician and it is far more affordable than a hospital emergency room visit.

Whether you are at home on a weekend or it is late at night when you get sick or you are out of town when you get injured, the most affordable, convenient, and qualified health care platform is often a local urgent care clinic.

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Your After Hours Medical Care Options

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Have you ever been met with a medical concern, something that was not quite an emergency but that you would rather not wait until your physician?s office hours? This is a common concern among people involved in an injury or suffering the symptoms of a minor illness. You debate if an emergency room visit it warranted or you consider if you can wait until your doctor is in the office. With the holiday season coming up, your physician?s office is likely to have less appointment times. Be prepared for any medical concerns and understand your clinic care options.

Wait for an open appointment with your primary physician

This option may be tempting for some. You are familiar with your physician and they already have all of your medical records. You are confident with their abilities to treat your medical concerns. But, the wait time could be too long, depending on their availability. Also, some medical conditions should not wait. Most primary physician?s offices follow normal business hours, with extended breaks during the holiday season. This is in comparison to 85% of urgent care centers being open seven days a week.

Visit your local emergency room department

All hospitals have connected emergency room departments. These are open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to handle and treat any medical emergencies. However, emergency rooms are known for their long waits and expensive costs. Also, if you are not actually suffering from an emergency, you are making those who are, wait longer for medical care.

Emergency rooms may be the only option if you are truly experiencing a medical emergency. However, most medical concerns can wait until the morning, granted that it is not an emergency. If you can wait for medical care in the morning, you can visit your physician?s office if you are able to get an appointment, or you can walk into an urgent clinic care.

Telecommute medical care

This is a newer concept, but you are likely to hear more about it over the next few years. Telecommute medical offices allow you to ask the doctors in the office questions from your own home. You can talk with them virtually over the internet, usually with some form of web video. The problem with this model is that although you can receive quick medical care, the doctor is unable to physically examine you. This model might be acceptable for common colds or skin conditions, but would not be ideal for any medical condition that might require medical testing.

Visit an after hours urgent care center

The urgent care centers are also a relatively new concept, but are becoming more and more popular as patients learn of their benefits. They are generally not 24 hour facilities, but do offer extended hours, often much longer than primary physician?s offices and do not require an appointment. The urgent clinic care center also allows you to see the best doctors, in a much shorter wait time than the emergency department.

Urgent clinic care centers are able to see a variety of medical conditions. They can see cold and illness, back pains, and sprains, along with a variety of other medical concerns. About four out of five urgent care centers provide fracture care, which makes it a good option even for those concerns that require medical testing. With approximately 20,000 physicians practicing Urgent Care Medicine today, you are likely to find a center that is short wait time, great medical care, and extremely convenient for all of your medical needs.

Every day, many people are faced with the dilemma of what to do when they experience an illness or injury and their regular physician?s office is closed. It is always a good idea to understand your medical care options, in case an emergency does occur. Patients can wait until their primary physician?s office reopens and they can get an appointment, visit their local emergency room department, contact a physician virtually, or walk into their local urgent clinic care center. Ensure you know all of the advantages and disadvantages of each type of location first.

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When to Go to an Urgent Care Clinic

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Over the course of the last few years, the American healthcare industry has seen a dramatic increase in the number of private medical walk in clinics, like urgent care centers and retail clinics. Since then, everyone from top doctors and surgeons to health columnists have offered advice on which medical facility to seek out in a given situation. However, it can often be difficult to apply this advice when you’re dealing with an actual illness or injury. Fortunately, this choice can be easier than it might seem. Read on to find out which medical center you should seek in a given situation.

Doctors’ Offices
Every American should have a doctor or primary care physician, so if you are currently lacking someone to fill this role, start investigating options in your area today. Primary care physicians are meant to provide regular care for chronic conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure. Similarly, recurring problems should also be treated by a doctor, who will have access to your medical history and other resources, but will charge a relatively inexpensive co-pay. Unfortunately, because physicians require appointments and typically operate only during normal business hours, they will likely take too much time in other situations.

Retail Clinics
These walk in clinics are operated out of grocery stores, drug stores and other businesses. They are usually staffed by nurses, and provide a few simple services, such as vaccinations and basic diagnoses. However, because they offer so few treatments and are also only open when the parent store is operating, it may be preferable to seek out 24 hour urgent care in most situations.

Urgent Care Centers
Urgent care clinics have a number of benefits: for example, they encourage walk-ins, have short waiting times, offer a wide variety of medical services, and charge low co-pays to boot. Moreover, many of these clinics offer after-hours or 24 hour urgent care services, making them a convenient resource day or night. However, urgent care centers are designed to treat non-life-threatening issues, ranging from upper respiratory infections to minor cuts and wounds. If you need 24 hour urgent care, this type of clinic is your best option.

Emergency Rooms
Emergency room care should be strictly reserved for serious illnesses and injuries to prevent hospital overcrowding. However, if you have a broken leg, a severe flesh wound, serious chest pain, a fever above 103 degrees, or another worrying symptom, head to an emergency room immediately to keep your condition from worsening. Learn more at this link.