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AliceCullen
LIF Adult
Member since 6/08 1497 total posts
Name:
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Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
I've been going to an urgent care place for the past few years for minor illnesses and find them so convenient. I hate talking on the phone in general so not having to call for an appointment is a real plus. Recently I had an issue where I thought I would like to see a primary care physician so I could get more personalized care and be able to follow up with the same doctor. I called for an appointment, spent 10 minutes on the phone giving all of my info and then they told me the next appointment wasn't for 2 weeks. Seriously? No wonder people are flocking to urgent care places.
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Posted 5/31/17 3:25 PM  |
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jamnmore
LIF Adult
Member since 6/16 989 total posts
Name:
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Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
Message edited 5/31/2017 3:54:59 PM.
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| Posted 5/31/17 3:54 PM |
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NYCGirl80
I love my kiddies!
Member since 5/11 10413 total posts
Name:
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
2 weeks for a well visit or a sick visit? I don't think 2 weeks is unreasonable to wait for a physical. Obviously a sick appt should be same day.
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| Posted 5/31/17 4:15 PM |
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jlm2008
LIF Adult
Member since 1/10 5092 total posts
Name:
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Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
I personally would never go to urgent care over my primary unless of course it was an emergency or after hours. Once you have a primary you won't wait 2 weeks for a sick appointment you will get it same day. You can't expect an immediate appointment when you have never been there before. Once you are a patient you will be accommodated. At any good doctors office anyway.
Edited to say at most primary practices you will wait a few months for a well checkup or physical. But that's everywhere the last 20 years. Luckily we are adults so we can schedule our appointments in advance.
Message edited 5/31/2017 4:19:06 PM.
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| Posted 5/31/17 4:16 PM |
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WannaBeAMom11
LIF Adult
Member since 1/11 7391 total posts
Name:
Name
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Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
I only go to urgent care places for urgent care. 2 weeks for a physical is nothing.
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| Posted 5/31/17 4:33 PM |
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AliceCullen
LIF Adult
Member since 6/08 1497 total posts
Name:
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
Posted by jlm2008
I personally would never go to urgent care over my primary unless of course it was an emergency or after hours. Once you have a primary you won't wait 2 weeks for a sick appointment you will get it same day. You can't expect an immediate appointment when you have never been there before. Once you are a patient you will be accommodated. At any good doctors office anyway.
Edited to say at most primary practices you will wait a few months for a well checkup or physical. But that's everywhere the last 20 years. Luckily we are adults so we can schedule our appointments in advance.
LOL at the luckily we are adults comments. I wasn't a new patient here, I just had not been there in about 3 years. I told them I was having a stomach problem and they told me 2 weeks. It wasn't a physical.
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| Posted 5/31/17 4:41 PM |
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jamnmore
LIF Adult
Member since 6/16 989 total posts
Name:
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
Posted by AliceCullen
Posted by jlm2008
I personally would never go to urgent care over my primary unless of course it was an emergency or after hours. Once you have a primary you won't wait 2 weeks for a sick appointment you will get it same day. You can't expect an immediate appointment when you have never been there before. Once you are a patient you will be accommodated. At any good doctors office anyway.
Edited to say at most primary practices you will wait a few months for a well checkup or physical. But that's everywhere the last 20 years. Luckily we are adults so we can schedule our appointments in advance.
LOL at the luckily we are adults comments. I wasn't a new patient here, I just had not been there in about 3 years. I told them I was having a stomach problem and they told me 2 weeks. It wasn't a physical.
So it was not really an urgent problem. I am sure if it was you would have been accommodated sooner. I agree that using Urgent care is for urgent problems and not routine care. And that following up with you primary doctor is important. I see my primary and when I have an urgent issue I get appts same day. For "I can deal with it for now, but need to be seen issues" it can be about a week for an appt. I tried to change doctors and found an average 4-6 month wait for new patient appts at all the offices I called.
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| Posted 5/31/17 5:04 PM |
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Otherme
Square head cutie pants
Member since 3/06 6899 total posts
Name:
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
i stopped going to my primary care physician after an incident when i called them for help with an extreme issue that needed to be taken care of - they said they couldn't see me for a week, even though i was bleeding and in pain.
They told me to go to the ER 'if i was that concerned'.
So i did, and turned out i had an infection.
buh bye primary care dr
you don't care about me? i don't care to see you anymore
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| Posted 5/31/17 5:11 PM |
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jerrysgirl
I love my hot dog!!
Member since 6/06 5357 total posts
Name:
E & J
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
I changed pcps. My newest pcp I can get an apt same day and usually next day for physical. I only go to urgent care when my pcp is closed or it is a holiday. I went to urgent care on thanksgiving.
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| Posted 5/31/17 5:20 PM |
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PitterPatter11
Baby Boy is Here!
Member since 5/11 7632 total posts
Name:
Momma <3
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
Posted by AliceCullen
Posted by jlm2008
I personally would never go to urgent care over my primary unless of course it was an emergency or after hours. Once you have a primary you won't wait 2 weeks for a sick appointment you will get it same day. You can't expect an immediate appointment when you have never been there before. Once you are a patient you will be accommodated. At any good doctors office anyway.
Edited to say at most primary practices you will wait a few months for a well checkup or physical. But that's everywhere the last 20 years. Luckily we are adults so we can schedule our appointments in advance.
LOL at the luckily we are adults comments. I wasn't a new patient here, I just had not been there in about 3 years. I told them I was having a stomach problem and they told me 2 weeks. It wasn't a physical.
After 3 years, you're considered a new patient again. That's why there is a long wait. My doctor allows walk ins for sick visits. I only use urgent care after hours. Although it's more convenient, the copay is an extra $20.
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| Posted 5/31/17 6:37 PM |
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NervousNell
Just another chapter in life..
Member since 11/09 54921 total posts
Name:
..being a mommy and being a wife!
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
I only use urgent care. I love it.
I rarely am one to go to doctors though
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| Posted 5/31/17 8:32 PM |
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shadows
LIF Adult
Member since 1/10 4694 total posts
Name:
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
Posted by NervousNell
I only use urgent care. I love it.
I rarely am one to go to doctors though
Same for me.
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| Posted 5/31/17 8:34 PM |
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LuckyStar
LIF Adult
Member since 7/14 7274 total posts
Name:
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Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
I love the urgent care I go to. I wish I could use them for primary care. I don't even have a primary care doctor, if I'm sick I go to urgent care, if I have an ongoing issue I go to the appropriate specialist. I'm not waiting months and paying an extra copay to be farmed out to a specialist when I can choose one myself.
I think the private practice primary care doctors are becoming dinosaurs, particularly in large cities. They send patients with chronic issues to specialists and with the rise of all these urgent care centers, their sick care business is dwindling. They're going to have nothing left to do. Not to mention new doctors are hesitant to choose it as their specialty because there's no money in it. Basically, millennials are going to shut the primary care business down.
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| Posted 5/31/17 8:34 PM |
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NervousNell
Just another chapter in life..
Member since 11/09 54921 total posts
Name:
..being a mommy and being a wife!
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
Posted by LuckyStar
I love the urgent care I go to. I wish I could use them for primary care. I don't even have a primary care doctor, if I'm sick I go to urgent care, if I have an ongoing issue I go to the appropriate specialist. I'm not waiting months and paying an extra copay to be farmed out to a specialist when I can choose one myself.
I think the private practice primary care doctors are becoming dinosaurs, particularly in large cities. They send patients with chronic issues to specialists and with the rise of all these urgent care centers, their sick care business is dwindling. They're going to have nothing left to do. Not to mention new doctors are hesitant to choose it as their specialty because there's no money in it. Basically, millennials are going to shut the primary care business down.
I agree with this. If i have an issue I go to a specialist. What the heck is a family doctor going to do for me? Take my BP?
Message edited 5/31/2017 8:39:37 PM.
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| Posted 5/31/17 8:38 PM |
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LuckyStar
LIF Adult
Member since 7/14 7274 total posts
Name:
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
Posted by jlm2008
I personally would never go to urgent care over my primary unless of course it was an emergency or after hours. Once you have a primary you won't wait 2 weeks for a sick appointment you will get it same day. You can't expect an immediate appointment when you have never been there before. Once you are a patient you will be accommodated. At any good doctors office anyway.
Edited to say at most primary practices you will wait a few months for a well checkup or physical. But that's everywhere the last 20 years. Luckily we are adults so we can schedule our appointments in advance.
And this is exactly why they're going to be run out of business. No one under the age of 80 has time for that sh!t.
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| Posted 5/31/17 8:48 PM |
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MrsT809
LIF Adult
Member since 9/09 12167 total posts
Name:
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Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
I haven't been to my pcp in years. Most times it's faster to get in and out of urgent care than when I'd have an appointment with my regular doctor. I probably should get an actual physical at some point but I usually just go to the walk in place when I'm really sick and stay away from doctors otherwise.
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| Posted 5/31/17 8:54 PM |
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KarenK122
The Journey is the Destination
Member since 5/05 4431 total posts
Name:
Karen
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
Posted by Otherme
i stopped going to my primary care physician after an incident when i called them for help with an extreme issue that needed to be taken care of - they said they couldn't see me for a week, even though i was bleeding and in pain.
They told me to go to the ER 'if i was that concerned'.
So i did, and turned out i had an infection.
buh bye primary care dr
you don't care about me? i don't care to see you anymore
Same for me. My doctor would never see me if I was sick. There was always a week - two week wait. I was told if I was that sick go to the ER. Then they made this ridiculous rule that you can only talk to the doctor about one problem at a time. So if I needed my medicine renewed and I had the flu, I needed to make two appointments because I guess it was too tough for them to multitask. My new PCP is much more responsive and seems to genuinely care.
But to answer the question, only urgent care if it was after hours or I couldn't get in to my PCP.
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| Posted 5/31/17 9:04 PM |
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RainyDay
LIF Adult
Member since 6/15 3998 total posts
Name:
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Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
I only go to urgent care but then again I very rarely go to the dr.
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| Posted 5/31/17 9:23 PM |
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jlm2008
LIF Adult
Member since 1/10 5092 total posts
Name:
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
Posted by LuckyStar
Posted by jlm2008
I personally would never go to urgent care over my primary unless of course it was an emergency or after hours. Once you have a primary you won't wait 2 weeks for a sick appointment you will get it same day. You can't expect an immediate appointment when you have never been there before. Once you are a patient you will be accommodated. At any good doctors office anyway.
Edited to say at most primary practices you will wait a few months for a well checkup or physical. But that's everywhere the last 20 years. Luckily we are adults so we can schedule our appointments in advance.
And this is exactly why they're going to be run out of business. No one under the age of 80 has time for that sh!t.
Well I'm about 50 years under 80, and I can look at my calendar a couple months ahead and pick up the phone and schedule an appointment. 
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| Posted 5/31/17 10:43 PM |
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MrsDrMatt
Live and RUN like a Ninja!
Member since 5/06 3104 total posts
Name:
MrsDrMatt
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
Posted by NervousNell
Posted by LuckyStar
I love the urgent care I go to. I wish I could use them for primary care. I don't even have a primary care doctor, if I'm sick I go to urgent care, if I have an ongoing issue I go to the appropriate specialist. I'm not waiting months and paying an extra copay to be farmed out to a specialist when I can choose one myself.
I think the private practice primary care doctors are becoming dinosaurs, particularly in large cities. They send patients with chronic issues to specialists and with the rise of all these urgent care centers, their sick care business is dwindling. They're going to have nothing left to do. Not to mention new doctors are hesitant to choose it as their specialty because there's no money in it. Basically, millennials are going to shut the primary care business down.
I agree with this. If i have an issue I go to a specialist. What the heck is a family doctor going to do for me? Take my BP?
A PCP is helpful so that a person has a centralized area for medical concerns. Once this happens a doctor may be able to identify areas of concern. An urgent care facility does not necessarily have all of your medical background/history.
An example: two years ago you went to an urgent care facility for ABC ailment. 6 months later XYX ailment comes up. What if the two are related? If you go to one PCP, the medical staff will be able to review current AND past illnesses to see if they are related.
Just my opinion.
Message edited 6/1/2017 10:27:05 AM.
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| Posted 6/1/17 10:26 AM |
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thewinterone
You make me happy
Member since 5/05 2474 total posts
Name:
cause you are gray.
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
I went to an Urgent Care and because I hadn't seen a doctor in 10 years, the nurses harassed me to see the PCP affiliated a week later.
Turned out to be great for me because I really like him and I'm guessing because the practice is relatively new, appointments are easy to get.
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| Posted 6/1/17 10:42 AM |
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
I've started just going to the urgent care. A few years ago, I had a fever of 104 and couldn't move. I called my primary care doc in the morning asking to be seen that day (I had been an established patient with them for over 10 years) and the soonest they could get me in was 3 WEEKS. Yes, THREE WEEKS. I ended up going to ER later that night with a raging kidney infection and was there for over a week. Could they have done anything to stop it at that point? Probably not, but to tell a sick patient that they can't be seen was awful. I just wanted to see my OWN doctor who knew me well.
Now I just go to whatever urgent care is closest to me (either at work or at home). It kind of sucks.
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| Posted 6/1/17 10:44 AM |
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ali120206
2 Boys
Member since 7/06 17795 total posts
Name:
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Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
I used to only go to Urgent Care and didn't have a PCP. Now, they raised our copays for Urgent Care so I typically only go if it's my only option.
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| Posted 6/1/17 10:46 AM |
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lisa0807
LIF Adolescent
Member since 4/10 572 total posts
Name:
Lisa
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
I only go to my doctor for physicals anything else if needed Urgent Care. Usually no wait and always convenient to my time.
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| Posted 6/1/17 1:32 PM |
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Dolphinsbaby
My 3 little guys!
Member since 12/10 2943 total posts
Name:
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Re: Urgent Care vs Primary Care doctor
I like having a PCP. Although I use urgent care too but if I'm in dire need (I got the flu over Christmas break and went to urgent care for tamiflu).
I had issues 10 years ago when I would just randomly faint. My PCP was the one who sent me for my testing at the hospital and ultimately it was what he thought it was. He also sent me to a neurologist just to get checked out on the safe side even though he didn't think my issue was neurological (which it wasn't thank god). He followed up on me after. My point is that couldn't have been handled through urgent care and even if I had other issues later, like an ear infection or something this was always in my chart. Although that issue is long gone now.
Message edited 6/1/2017 9:57:23 PM.
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| Posted 6/1/17 9:56 PM |
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