Posted on June 10, 2023

When do you go o the dotor? Ugent Care? ER? How can a private patient advocate (me) help?

Where do I go When I’m Sick or Hurt?

The internet has become a sea of conflicting advice, especially when it comes to health. If you’re looking for what to do when you don’t feel well, it’s hard to find a lighthouse in the sea of noise. You may wonder, “When can I wait and just see a doctor? What is an Urgent Care center for? How do I know if it’s bad enough to be an emergency?” 

Rest assured; most people also feel just as puzzled and hopefully I can be here to clear things up!

Visiting the General Practitioner

Let’s start with your family doctor. Also called general practitioners, they are equipped to handle a variety of non-emergent ailments. Need maintenance visits or labs, medication refills, preventative health, vaccines, or a referral?

Your family doc can also check out moles, rashes, general aches and pains, and anything else you can wait a few days to be evaluated. Are you feeling symptoms you have felt before, like a bladder infection or ear infection, and know it is probably the same thing? Visiting your regular doctor is best if you can get an appointment quickly!

Urgent Care May be Just What you Need

It’s a Friday night, you don’t feel well, and your doctor’s is closed. No need to suffer until Monday! Urgent Care Centers are open afterhours and weekends. 

This is the place to go for allergic reactions, unbearable headaches, eye irritation or sinus issues, stomach burning or pain, or sudden changes in bowel habits you haven’t had before. Urgent care centers are also great for treating milder animal bites (although if it involves the hand, go to the ER), cuts, burns, sprains, and minor injuries. Make a beeline to urgent care if you notice high fevers (over 103 F) lasting more than a few days, frequent nausea and vomiting, or worsening bladder pain. 

Urgent care is perfect for bothersome but non-life-threatening conditions. Wait times are often shorter, too, and the experience is overall less stressful.

The Dreaded ER Visit

Nobody want to go to the ER, but it is sometimes inevitable to save your life. Keep in mind the emergency department is reserved for an EMERGENCY: It is life-threatening or may cause lifelong impairment if not treated immediately. A short list would include any kind of head injury, loss of consciousness, chest pain and shortness of breath, trouble talking or understanding speech or sudden onset of weakness on one side of the body. Unexplained and unbearable pain, symptoms that seem especially abnormal, complications during pregnancy, and suspected poisoning should be evaluated for emergent care. If someone is actively suicidal, the ED can also help. 

The Noisy Royal Escort

What if the condition needs treatment NOW? Call an ambulance. The team will work quickly to stabilize you on route. You feel some relief and comfort from receiving immediate care, and it is has been shown that the faster a critical condition is addressed, the higher the likelihood of recovery. The “what ifs” still loom, leaving you fraught with worry [1].

Seeing the Doctor

The physician arrives, finally. They are there to evaluate and treat you. But you may not know what to ask or expect, and often no efforts are made to educate. Sadly enough, the doc may not even do a full workup [1]. Pages of forms filled with medical-heavy jargon are pushed into your face and you are expected to sign. It is normal to be scared, as you are unsure of what will happen, or if you will be one of the 14% of patients admitted to the hospital [2].

I understand that it can feel like you can’t ask questions and don’t have the right to get answers. You aren’t alone. It is normal to feel too afraid or intimidated to speak up. Don’t forget your rights! Doctors are bound to honor them by the Hippocratic oath. And, also, health laws like EMCLA. If you talk to someone before you go like me, it can make your life go more smoothly. I work, a times, as your private consult. Your advocate. Your confidante and secret weapon. An advocate can make sure that you get the care you need, and wha happens is supposed to be what happens.

Information is Power

The number one suggestion to keep yourself safe and informed within the nebulous health care system is to hire a professional dedicated to protecting your health at every step: A private patient advocate to suit your needs!

There are those with expertise in patient care and decision-making to ensure you get the care you need. Others specialize in insurance benefits and billing. Some focus on the issues that accompany aging. Others handle legal matters, and some are health coaches! No matter your needs, no matter how big or small, we’re here for you.

If You’re on Your Own: Give Detailed Info and Don’t Take No for an Answer

Try to avoid the urge to inform your doc with what you think you may have. Instead, WRITE OUT A DETAILED DESCRPTION OF YOUR ILLNESS. When did start? Exactly what and where is the problem? What does it feel like? Is it constant? Can you associate it with an event or trigger? Any other symptoms? Has it happened before? Anything make it better or worse? Try to be as descriptive as you can. Don’t forget to tell them about your past medical history and meds.

Assert this information so they hear you. No doctor or staff member should blow you off, refuse to listen, or deny an answer. It is, after all, their job. Keeping tabs on this can be overwhelming to do on your own, especially when you’re ill, but you don’t have to. Remember, private patient advocates like me are here for you. I do the work so you can rest, heal, and receive the best care possible. Nothing happens under MY WATCH!

References

1. Aacharya, R.P., C. Gastmans, and Y. Denier, Emergency department triage: an ethical analysis. BMC Emergency Medicine, 2011. 11(1): p. 16.

2. Ahsani-Estahbanati, E., et al., Incidence rate and financial burden of medical errors and policy interventions to address them: a multi-method study protocol. Health Services and Outcomes Research Methodology, 2021. 22(2): p. 244-252.