Urgent care clinics first opened in the 1970s with a narrow mission: address patient needs that happen when a primary care practice is closed. Otherwise, go to your traditional primary care physician, who could fit you in immediately and had the time to treat what is ailing you.
Since then things have changed. Traditional primary care practices now have many more patients to see each day. The time per appointment has dropped dramatically, and getting an appointment immediately is usually not possible. If you sprained your ankle in the 1970s during the day, you’d go to your primary care physician, who had the time and expertise to treat it. Today, your traditional primary care doctor has the expertise to treat a sprained ankle, but they don’t have time during an appointment, and they don’t have the appointment available. This isn’t their fault. It’s how our healthcare system has evolved. Consequently, urgent care clinics have proliferated to fill the gap, and in some cities you can find multiple clinics within a few miles of each other.
It would be better for your primary care physician to treat your sprained ankle. Every touch point with your doctor is valuable – they already know you, and it’s a chance for your doctor to learn more about you and your life. However, when you go to an urgent care clinic instead, that touchpoint is lost.
There are some exceptions to this, however, including Direct Primary Care. That’s because Direct Primary Care physicians typically see fewer patients in person every day. As a result, same-day appointments are often readily available. This can create a clear advantage in terms of care provided–and in terms of the financial burden experienced by patients. Often, by seeing a Direct Primary Care physician instead of going to an urgent care clinic, patients can get the care they need, save money, and experience relief faster.
The Capabilities of Direct Primary Care vs Urgent Care
Urgent care clinics are designed to treat fairly serious conditions. They will often have more imaging, diagnostic, and treatment options than a typical primary care clinic. These types of clinics are designed to see patients quickly, stabilize serious issues, and refer patients to more long-term care. People will often visit urgent care clinics for severe allergic reactions, asthma attacks, broken bones, serious illness, pain, and many other issues. They often have evening and weekend hours to be more convenient.
Primary care services, on the other hand, are intended to improve and address concerns with your long term wellness. A primary care doctor is better suited to understanding your health holistically because they get to know you over a series of recurring visits. Yet, there are many pains, illnesses, and ailments that can also (and in many cases preferably) be served in a primary care setting. This is especially true in a Direct Primary Care setting.
When Direct Primary Care Can be a Good Solution for Urgent Situations
At an urgent care clinic, the staff and physician aren’t familiar with your medical history. They will likely be a complete stranger–and the chances that you will ever see them again are quite low. What’s more, their treatment might conflict with chronic conditions or repeat treatments that haven’t worked in the past…because those physicians and staff don’t know you. But at a Direct Primary Care clinic, the doctor you see will be familiar with you and your health as well. As a result, your treatment plan will be tailored to your body and your health.
This is not the only benefit of Direct Primary Care. In fact, there have been many instances at Progressive Health Primary Care where patients have received care for urgent issues. A few examples include:
- Illness: In one case, we received a call from a patient who was feeling very ill and wasn’t getting better. Rather than going to an urgent care clinic, they contacted us at 4pm on a Wednesday. We were able to get them in on the same day. At that point, we quickly identified that the patient had an infection and we developed a treatment plan. As a result, the patient was able to receive the care they needed from a doctor who already knew them and avoid a visit to an urgent care clinic.
- Asthma issues: Asthma can result in very serious medical issues. At one point, we had a patient who contacted us because they were having an asthma attack. We immediately saw the patient and determined how best to proceed. An x-ray of the patient’s lungs was not necessary and we discussed how to best manage their current episode. As a result, they were able to avoid significant expenses.
- Injury: When a patient experienced an injury, we were able to see them quickly. We determined that an x-ray was not necessary and were able to treat the injury effectively. But that’s not always the case. In another case, a patient who experienced an injury saw us quickly and we determined that further imaging was necessary. However, because we made this determination at our office, the patient was referred to an imaging center instead of an urgent care clinic. The patient could then choose to have their health insurance cover it or pay a transparent cost set by the independent facility.
It’s difficult for patients to know when a trip to an urgent care facility is warranted and when it might be avoidable. When a visit to your traditional primary care physician is difficult to obtain and possibly expensive, it’s easy to err on the side of caution (and convenience). But because it’s easy to see a Direct Primary Care physician, these types of clinics can often help patients determine when urgent care is required and when it can be avoided.
Continuity of Care
One of the principal benefits of seeing your primary care doctor is something called continuity of care. The idea is that your primary care doctor knows what happened to you last week and what is happening to you this week. They’re familiar with your health and wellness.
When you see a Direct Primary Care physician instead of a randomly assigned urgent care physician, you can take advantage of this continuity of care. Your primary care doctor–the one who knows you best–stays in the loop and helps you make decisions. This can help bring your urgent healthcare needs and your long-term healthcare needs into a more effective alignment.
The cost of almost all primary care at a Direct Primary Care clinic is covered by your monthly dues. Which means that visiting a DPC clinic instead of an urgent care is often better for your budget–and for your health.
Have questions about Direct Primary Care? Contact us today!