Finding a Walk-In Clinic Before the Emergency

Waiting can be hard work. When you were younger, waiting on Santa to come was the worst; he'd only come if you were asleep, but naturally you couldn't go to sleep because you were too excited. As an adult, it can be hard to wait for other things, such as that promotion at work, or that perfect man to enter your life. One thing that can be very difficult to wait for is medical help when you don't have an appointment. Often times, things simply happen that are far outside of our control. You should be prepared ahead of time so that when you have a medical emergency, you know right where to go.
Consider finding a walk in clinic. These frequently offer urgent care that doesn't require an appointment. This is great if you have an emergency and need quick service, and didn't have the time to make an appointment. There are numerous locations throughout the country, as well as several chains that have practices set up across the nation. Be sure to do your research ahead of time, so you are ready when disaster strikes.
First, check the location of the walk in clinic. If you're having serious chest pains, you don't want to have to drive two hours to get to your urgent care facility. Instead, you want somewhere that is within easy driving distance (probably no more than twenty miles,) and is easy to reach. Most people don't want to run the risk of driving on the interstate or on winding roads if they're not feeling well, so try and find somewhere that is already on your side of town.
Find out the availability of the walk in clinic. Many of facilities will be open on holidays but not twenty-four hours, or vise versa. Perhaps they aren't open on the weekends. A great deal of injuries and emergencies, especially for children, occur on the weekends while they are enjoying ball games or playing at the park. Be sure that you are happy with the hours during which you can access your facility. It's probably a good idea to try and find a practice that at least has a twenty-four hour phone line, even if it's not necessarily open 24 hours. If you look hard enough, though, you will probably be able to find that location that fits your availability desires.
A special consideration that you will want to consider before deciding on your walk in clinic is their insurance coverage. You will want to verify that they accept your insurance before you ever walk through their doors with your first emergency. There is nothing worse than thinking your insurance will cover your visits, and then finding out, after you've already had an appointment for a couple hundred dollars, that they won't cover a dime. You can call the facility to find out if they accept your insurance or, once you have a list of possible practices, you can call your insurance provider directly to find out which ones will accept their company.
You never want to wait until you are in dire straits to figure out where to go for medical assistance. It's better to be prepared before you need the walk in clinic, and know where it is you are going to go when a medical emergency occurs.