Is A Walk-In Clinic The Best Option

A walk in clinic is a place where one can obtain medical care that is somewhere between a regular doctor's office and the emergency room of a hospital. It can be the perfect place for a host of maladies and checkups. The benefits include "no appointments necessary," a medical doctor on staff at all time, laboratory and x-ray facilities on the premises and convenient locations. Sometimes, it's the best option, and sometimes a regular doctor appointment or emergency room would be better. Here are some examples:

Slipped and Fell On Ice

The motorist parked her car on a hill in a snowy neighborhood. She carefully stepped on the most obvious slippery spots. All of a sudden, though, a spot of black ice on the asphalt that looked clear provided the ride of a lifetime. One moment she was walking and the next she was flat on her back. When she got up, she seemed okay except a bit bruised. She could walk, though, so figured she was okay and went on about her day. By the next morning, however, she woke up at 6AM to realize she couldn't move. What should she do: go to the regular doctor, the urgent care walk in clinic or to the E.R. at the hospital?

Her Regular Doctor

The benefits of going to her regular doctor are that she knows him or her and feels comfortable in the office. Her practitioner knows her, too, so would understand her background of osteopenia and would order the appropriate tests to check for cracks, breaks, etc. The problem is, the office doesn't open till 9AM and she needs to make an appointment. Plus, the practice doesn't have an x-ray machine, so the patients have to schlep over to the lab, which could take hours. Following this, the doctor will have to wait to hear the results. This option could take days.

The Walk-In Clinic

The upside of the walk-in clinic is that there is "no appointment necessary." They also have the lab and x-ray machines on the premises, so there is no waiting around at two separate facilities. They are conveniently located and the wait time is far less than an emergency room of the hospital. Although she doesn't know the physicians on staff as well as her own family doctor, the experiences she's had with them are that they're competent and friendly. The only downside is that they don't open till 8:30AM and she hurts right now.

The E.R.

At the emergency room, she can go right this second and will not need to wait around until it opens. The trouble is, however, that they're always busy and she realizes it will be a few hours of waiting. They do have x-ray machine on the premises and competent medical staff. What should she do?

This decision will depend on the patient. After slipping and falling on ice, should she go to A) her family doctor, B) walk-in clinic or C) E.R.? Chances are she'll choose option B.