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Mobile Urgent Care Provides A Valuable Safety Net

By Dominique Martin


New legislation has provided a way for many people without health insurance to obtain affordable coverage, but there is still a sizable population falling between the cracks. These individuals often live under severe economic hardship, and a standard doctor appointment may not a be realistic option. Mobile urgent care is designed to bring high-quality medical facilities and personnel to the neighborhoods and people that need them the most.

Traditionally, an urgent need facility is designed to be a lower-cost alternative to an emergency room, and also provides additional services unavailable in an ER. Those without insurance often pay inflated costs in an ER visit, must literally wait for hours to see a physician, and and receive scant followup or preventive instructions. Unlike an ER, these centers not only treat injuries, but also bad colds or the flu, administer x-rays and lab tests, give physicals, and more.

For people unable to see a doctor regularly, a mobile office can be a more cost-effective way to receive needed help. The units are generally in remodeled recreational-style vehicles outfitted for medicine, including the latest equipment. The staff usually includes nurse practitioners as well as doctors, and some have even added dental services for those with urgent problems.

Although the worst of the recession seems past, not everyone has shared in that reality. There is a considerable penalty for enduring years of minimal health maintenance, such as experiencing the current wave of diabetes. Many people are minimally aware that they may have the symptoms, but have not yet developed neuropathy, blindness, or lost an extremity to infection. For them, a traveling doctor brings not treatment, but also longer-term monitoring.

Most have few restrictions on who may or may not become a patient. From children requiring vaccinations or treatment for common ailments like ear infections, to the elderly without financial resources, there is no litmus test deciding who may or may not receive help. In areas with large populations of new immigrants, politics are routinely set aside in favor of helping all people enjoy the benefits of good health.

For those recuperating from surgery, some units feature help for patients after they have been discharged. The ability of a unit to travel helps cut down lengthy recovery times, limits the chances of avoidable post-surgical infections or other complications, and helps support caregivers within families. For patients living alone, the service increases peace of mind.

Without this type of program, many patients would receive little or no personalized medical attention. Doctors and practitioners not only assess and treat symptoms, but also provide current information regarding nutrition and diet, dispense prenatal advice, and help parents keep child immunizations up to date. They provide information for young adults on safer sex and STD transmission.

More than four thousand people can receive help in one year from a single unit, and demand for the service is not diminishing. Educational material and screenings for healthy individuals helps prevent future problems, while suppressing cost inflation. Whether patients are coping with the singular stresses of aging or having trouble finding affordable decent housing, care of this type helps fill the need.




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