| Immediate Care FAQ |
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EWIMA's Wheeling Immediate Medical Care Clinic is a convenient alternative when your regular clinic is closed or you can't see your doctor as soon as you would like. This part of the clinic is for non-emergency problems such as sore throats, ear infections, minor burns, or cuts and bruises. If possible, you should call your own doctor before seeking treatment. Your doctor knows your medical history and can guide you to the most appropriate place for care and can provide follow-up care after an urgent care visit. Wheeling Immediate Care is open days, early evenings, and weekends. You do not need to be a regular EWIMA Healthcare patient. No appointment is necessary. Just walk in and receive care when you need it most. Who will care for me? Our clinic is staffed with experienced physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners. How long will I have to wait? Immediate care patients are generally treated on a first-come, first-served basis. While every attempt is made to see you as quickly as possible, wait times are based on the number of people seeking care as well as the seriousness of their condition What happens after I leave immediate care? You will be advised about all follow-up procedures and notified about any abnormal lab work or X-rays. A complete record of your treatment may also be sent to your primary care physician, who can provide any necessary follow-up care. What forms of insurance and payment do you accept? Ewima Healthcare accepts most health plans, cash, personal checks, Visa and MasterCard. What is an Emergency? Emergency care is care needed right away. An emergency is a serious medical condition or symptom (including severe pain) caused by an injury or sickness, or mental illness, which arises suddenly and requires immediate care and treatment to avoid disability or death. If a medical condition arises suddenly and you believe as a reasonable person that without immediate care and treatment your life or health is in jeopardy, you should go to the emergency room. Some examples include:
What treatment facilities are available when an illness or injury arises? Emergency departments are staffed with highly skilled physicians who have specialty training in managing catastrophic illnesses or life-threatening injuries. People often think of going to the Emergency Department when an illness or injury occurs because it is perceived to be convenient and open 24 hours a day. However, patients with minor or non life-threatening illnesses often have to wait a long time for care while other more seriously injured patients are evaluated. For many medical situations contacting your doctor's office during normal business hours, or going to an Immediate Care Center is often a better solution. When should people contact their Primary Care Physician? If it is not an emergency, most primary care physicians have after hours coverage by phone. You may speak to them or another physician or nurse to ask questions so they can determine if you need immediate care or if you can see them the next day. Immediate Care Centers have exteneded hours and do not require appointments which means you can recieve prompt attention. When should people go to an Immediate Care facility? Go to your doctor's office unless it is after hours and you feel the condition can't wait until the next day. Some reasons to go to an Immediate Care facility:
If you have any questions about whether it is an emergency or not, you should call your primary care physician, or immediate care center. Why are Emergency Rooms always so busy? More than 100 million Americans go to the Emergency Room every year for symptoms ranging from a high fever to chest pain. Emergency physicians at each local Chicago Hospital treated up to or more than 100,000 patients last year alone. People often think of going to the Emergency Room when an illness or injury occurs, because it is perceived to be convenient and open 24 hours a day. For many medical situations going to an urgent care center is often a better solution. Don't people usually go to the Emergency Department when it is a true emergency? Many do and if you believe significant harm will occur if you do not get prompt treatment, you should go to the Emergency Department. PHP of Mid-Michigan recently did a study to review why people were going to the ER. The top five reasons were:
An immediate care facilty like EWIMA can address problems like these for a fraction of the cost of visiting an emergency room. What is the resulting cost by using the Emergency Department vs. an Immediate Care? A visit to the emergency department for a non-emergent service will often cost 3-4 times more than a visit to an Immediate Care Clinic like EWIMA. Overuse of the emergency room is one of the top drivers to higher cost and rate increases for insurance today. But the cost is not only a financial one, keeping the physician from seeing more emergent cases means time delays for everyone.
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What is immediate care?