Urgent Care
 

Ok, folks, a dumb question...fortunately I am not one who has had to frequent doctors or hospital emergency rooms...and just moved to TV. URGENT CARE facilities are a relatively new concept for me. Are these pseudo-emergency rooms to take the load off hospitals, or are they something that arose due to politics/healthcare legislation? When would one use an Urgent Care facility? A non-life threatening injury? Do you need to be pre-registered in some way, or is it walk in?

Use them when you can't get in to see your regular physician, if you have one. Also, not for life threatening emergencies - call 911, and probably not for broken bones. My wife has been to the one at LSL twice and both times the experience was very nice, if going to see a Dr. can be nice. She actually had to go yesterday and was in and out in less than 1 hour.

My experience - Urgent Care
 

I really like the one that we go to when our primary care doctor is not available. Our experiences have always been good - one experience was even amazing.

I went to the urgent care not realizing how sick I was, but thinking that I needed some medical attention. It was spotted immediately that I was very sick, they started an IV, called an ambulance, and gave me medication as my face swelled to the point of not being able to breath well. I was admitted to TV Hospital in isolation with systemic MRSA. Needless to say, I recovered after 3 months with a Pic line and a home health nurse, but it was all quite dramatic.

WOW!!! Glad you're doing well! I too went to Urgent Care (Paramount in Sante Fe Crossing) with a medical event. They started an IV and called the paramedics who transported me to the ER. In my instance it was an adverse reaction to an RX. I was impressed with everyone involved with my care!!!

Urgent care
 

one suggestion if you are concerned about whether you are seen by a doctor or by a physician asst - research each of the area urgent care facilities on-line to find out which ones are staffed by an md and which are staffed by phys assts. am pretty sure lsl urgent care has mds and paramount has pas. i went to lsl in-season and walked out because there was over an hour wait on a sat morning. on the way home i went to paramount u.c. and had a 15 min wait. received excellent care from a phys asst. got my correct diagnosis of cellulitis, prescription and a follow-up appt with the utmost courtesy and professionalism. i recommend them based on only one visit.

Urgent Care facilities are walk-in. However if you've been there previoiusly, they keep a file with your information and it saves time. I use Urgent Care at Santa Fe Crossing for blood tests, allergy shots, etc. When I had a bad reaction to a wasp sting, I went directly to Emergency as I knew I would need an IV.

Thank you for all the responses, and to sadie and mommie, very happy to know you are well.

Now all we have to do is find out which ones are covered by our insurance...

I have used Paramount twice. Both times a Saturday. I think both "in season."

Both because I'd obviously picked up "something" on my recent cruise, and I felt like s***! Never did catch the plate number of the truck that ran me over!

Immediate, caring attention. Prescription for a strong antibiotic or whatever. Told to come back in "a couple of days" if not feeling better!

Far better than attempting a hospital ER. And, no hassle with Medicare, either!

I wouldn't use them as a substitute for a Primary Care physician, but they're exactly what's needed on the weekend or when your Primary Care is out of the loop!

SWR
:beer3:

I also can't say enough good things about Paramount the several times I have been there.
Excellent care and have always seen the doctor with follow ups if necessary.

Recommendation
 

We have used Lake Regional Urgent Care, (Old Camp Road) in Lake Sumter
and we can't say enough as to how terrific they are !! Just a sample of how
they treated us. I had a small mole come out on my arm and saw another Urgent Care in The Villages who said it was an infection and prescribed antibiotics.
I did not like the diagnosis so went to Lake Regional Care. They diagnosised
it as a form of skin cancer. The Dr. said she would take it off, send it out and if she was right she would recommend a Dr. (Tran) to make sure it was all
removed. It was cancer, I did go to Dr.Tran and all is fine. I could point out a number of cases where they were terrific. We have NEVER BEEN DISAPOINTED WITH THEIR CARE and have no trouble in recommending them.
Their kindness and concerns are great down to the last person working there and the Doctors..:bigbow:

Last year I cut my finger pretty bad with a steak knife and knew it needed stitches. I went to the Villages hospital emergency and they said 4 to 6 hours to see me. I left and went to the urgent care behind CVS at Belevedere Blvd and 466. I was seen in about 45 mins and was very impressed with Dr. Im who really impressed me with the way he handled the situation. He explained everything he was going to do, what to expect as far as pain and then did a fast job of stitching me up. He told me something that no other doctor has ever told me. He said to expose the wound to sunlight for about an hour every day. I would like to have him as a family docter. The only drawback of this clinic is their hours. They are not open 24 hours, 7 days a week.