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Welcome back to another bonus episode of

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Until It's Fixed. I'm Callie Chamberlain. And I'm Dr.

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Kenny Poole. As

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we cover ways to make healthcare work better for everyone, these

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bonus episodes will draw connections between

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the topic we recently discussed and our daily

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lives.

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We'll talk about one thing you and I

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can do today related to that topic to

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take charge of our health and well-being.

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Our

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last two episodes were all about meeting people

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where they're at, from home and community-based

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care to retail health clinics to the challenges of

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rural healthcare. We've explored how the healthcare

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industry is working to give you the best care options.

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But we also want to talk about the best options for the

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exact moment when you're not feeling well or you're

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having a medical emergency. So on today's

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episode, we're getting a little more specific on

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what to do when you're not feeling your best and

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how healthcare can meet you where you're at. Our

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one thing today is how to find and understand care options

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that work for you.

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So let's say that you don't feel well, which

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is already exhausting in and of itself, right? Physically and

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mentally. And now you have to

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make a decision about where you're going and when

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to go or whether to go somewhere and be

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seen at all. So in the moment, you

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might just pick the first thing you see on your search results

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or go somewhere that you know is close by. But

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if you have options, knowing about

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what those are can save you time and money.

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So we'll start with discussing

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primary care. I think that

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everyone should have a primary care provider. Primary

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care providers are usually

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defined as a general medicine

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physician for adults or a family

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practitioner or a pediatrician

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for children or, again, a family practitioner. There

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can also be nurse practitioners

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and physician assistants that work on

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care teams that can also serve in that role. Having

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a primary care physician is extremely

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important to just give you a medical home. That

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should be your go-to for all things related

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to health. And having a primary care

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physician can be a part of your health care system.

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really help guide you along the healthcare

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journey. And that includes making sure

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that you get the right care at

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the right time in the right places.

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Another option to get in front of

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our provider very quickly is through telehealth.

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It saves the time it would take to get to

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an in-person visit and can help reduce the spread

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of viruses and other illnesses because

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you're not in a waiting room with other people. If

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your primary care provider knows your medical history

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and your symptoms, they might be able to diagnose

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you on the call. And if you need additional

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tests, scans, or evaluations, they

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can refer you to those services, which can be faster

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than going straight to a clinic for a full appointment.

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A lot of primary care offices do

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telehealth now. And obviously,

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that was accelerated during the pandemic

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in terms of the availability and use

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of telehealth. But telehealth

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isn't always with an established provider. Again,

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there's also options like 24-7 virtual visits by

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phone or video that can be done with

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outside or independent entities. And

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they're great if you just need somebody to diagnose

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common medical conditions or prescribe medications

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if needed and

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if appropriate. Yeah. We

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know that broadband and internet access isn't

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always available for people. So these might not

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be available options for everyone.

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You can always call a nurse line to begin, even

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though they can't see you. If you list your symptoms,

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they can generally get a sense of where your health is

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at and point you in the right direction. And

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most lines are free. So it's a great first step.

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So let's talk about

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urgent care. So urgent care

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refers to any

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type of urgent

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medical attention that someone

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needs for a problem that

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can't wait, but isn't an

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emergency. It isn't something necessarily

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life-threatening or thought to be life-threatening. And

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urgent care can be provided in a

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number of ways. So first off, there

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are some primary care offices or

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primary care providers that do have a

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have urgent care built

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into their practices. And so that

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would be the ideal place to start if

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your primary care provider has those

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services because you're already established,

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your medical history. You can also

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do urgent care in a standalone urgent

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care center, which a lot of people are familiar with.

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There are another option for immediate

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treatment of illnesses and injuries

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that are not life-threatening.

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Yeah, there might also be situations

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where you do need to go to the emergency room. For

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example, if you're experiencing chest pain, shortness

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of breath, if you have major burns

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or severe injuries, you can't

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wait for treatment, you need to go right away. And

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in those instances, you might need to call 911 or

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go to the nearest emergency room. Emergency

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rooms are open 24 seven.

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But a lot of times you do need to go

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to the ER. And one of the things that

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we used to talk about a lot

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when I was teaching residents, and I even spoke

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on this with patients that while the

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financial part is certainly real and

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should be in the background, we

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shouldn't let finances

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dictate and guide

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the care that we need. I think it's

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important to think about your health first and foremost.

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Just like on the provider side, we

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wanna make sure that we don't put people in

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difficult financial situations,

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but we also want people to get the care that they need

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regardless of their ability to pay,

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regardless of their social economic status. Sometimes

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checking if alternative forms of care can provide

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the same services is really a cost

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saving exercise. And so I totally

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get it. And that's something that should be taken

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into context.

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From primary care services

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to urgent care, to telehealth, to emergency

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room visits, there are so many options.

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So we really hope this was helpful and

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can give you a better sense of what's possible. If

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you're ever sick and wondering where to start, you

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can always get a quick refresher of your options

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just by taking a few minutes to re-listen to this episode.

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Thank you again for listening and join

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us next week as we continue to talk more about...

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wellness programs, often through your employer

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if you're employed or through your insurance, actually

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pay or reward you for getting healthy. Make

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sure to follow or subscribe wherever you listen

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so you can get notified when a new episode is live.

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Catch you next time.