Avoid unnecessary hospital bills

vermicious knid · #1 05-16-2010, 12:24 AM

My advice to everybody is to, right now, search for an urgent care clinic near you. Know where it is so if you have a non life-threatening issue, you can go there instead of the hospital. I cut my hand deep today, and I think I saved a bunch of money by getting my stitches at an urgent care clinic. The cost: $347. I waited less than ten minutes before I was taken back by a nurse.

What experiences have you had with emergency care?

LorraineRN · #2 05-16-2010, 12:42 AM

I've worked in a hospital emergency room, and we referred to these urgent care clinics as 'docs in boxes'. lol I wish more people would use these rather than emergency rooms for their non-life threatening visits.

estranged4life · #3 05-16-2010, 10:43 AM

in the past (Only for somewhat minor mishaps) because I received an "employee discount rate" since Debbie was an employee of the hospital. But also because there are no urgent care clinics in this area (Unless I want to drive 100+ miles to OKC).

The only time I would say any of my trips to the ER were of a pure "medical concern" was when I had a seisure in November 2008 I was driving (Possibly due to the stress of Debbie's death just weeks earlier). The rest of my trips were for injuries such as a broken tibia, deep laseration to the right hand (I bled for hours upon hours EVEN after the cut was stapled shut), etc.

MacMan · #4 05-16-2010, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vermicious knid

The cost: $347.

Yeah, you got a deal

holidayroad · #5 05-16-2010, 12:34 PM

Around here, if you walk into an 'urgent care' center with anything much more serious than a cold, they will tell you to go to a hospital. Afraid of getting sued, I guess.

skcin · #6 05-17-2010, 01:31 PM

Urgent cares are great. Flat rates around here are around $140 per visit. Insurance copays (if they take you insurance) are like $25 or $30, as compared to ER which is $50-$100.

vermicious knid · #7 05-17-2010, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by estranged4life

deep laseration to the right hand (I bled for hours upon hours EVEN after the cut was stapled shut), etc.

Stapled shut? Eeek. Did the cut go down to the bone?

Fleetwoodmark · #8 05-19-2010, 08:14 AM

Thank God for the NHS.

petep9000 · #9 05-30-2010, 04:52 PM

A few years back, I went to a doc-in-the-box for a completely non-urgent, easy to treat ailment. I had an itchy rash in my groin, and on my foot. Hello, it was jock itch and athletes foot, all I wanted was a script for a non-OTC strength anti-fungal. The Nurse Practitioner wouldn't even see me. In fact, she wouldn't even address me, she told the clerk at the desk I need to go to an ER or find a primary care MD because she wasn't comfortable doing the examination.

Bitch! She's a medical professional!

The clerk walked me to the door and gestured to the shelf of OTC products, and said I should try one of them. I was aghast, as if I'd buy their crap after being treated like a leper.

I have almost 20 years hospital experience, and this to me was completely flabbergasting. And, this is something that's wrong with our health system here in the US. That hooker shouldn't be allowed to arbitrarily decide who to treat and who not to.
If their policy is "We Won't Treat Any Man With a Rash" then maybe that should be on the door or something.

estranged4life · #10 05-31-2010, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vermicious knid

Stapled shut? Eeek. Did the cut go down to the bone?

if nearly went all the way through the webbing (About 80% though my hand) between my first finger and middle finger on my right hand. The cut went between my knuckles (Which I could clearly see inside the wound) and oddly enough I did not feel the cut as if happened.

Sadly, I am allergic to linocaine/lidocaine so deadening the wound to be closed was a major problem that day. I "bit the bullet" and had Debbie place a towel over my head and the ER staff dampened a towel for me to bite onto as the ER Dr. stapled the wound shut.

Of course the REAL fun was when the 7 staples had to be removed - Which Debbie did here at home to save $$$ from a rather useless visit to the ER to have 'em removed. I'm VERY sure she enjoyed it, as I figured it was a payback for me being a pain-in-the-ass that I can be.

desertangel · #11 06-05-2010, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by holidayroad

Around here, if you walk into an 'urgent care' center with anything much more serious than a cold, they will tell you to go to a hospital. Afraid of getting sued, I guess.

that is a cryin' shame - and confusing!

There's an urgent care clinic right down the street from me. I had to use it a few months ago when I came down with swine flu. I actually drove my car there...

Of course, they would have preferred I stayed home... but I kinda freaked out when I found myself alone with a temp rising above 104 and was unable to bring it down. The saw me right away and dosed me up with liquid Tylenol and sent me back home with instructions.