As a parent, your child’s health is a regular concern for you. Since children are still learning how to properly manage their safety and take care of their day-to-day health, it is your responsibility to provide them the pediatric care they need to stay fit. Comprehensive specialized pediatric care is a medical practice that provides resources for both parents and children on areas relating to illness, injuries, allergies and mental wellness. When an accident happens and you’re wondering where you should turn to with a scared child in tow, you have clinics on standby.
What Are Emergency Rooms Used For?
The emergency room is your first resource in a life-threatening situation. Emergency room visits exceed a collective 110 million every year — despite this, studies have actually shown that people often confuse the needs of their emergency room with the needs of their urgent care clinic. This can cost you extra money down the line and, subsequently, extra stress. A private study by Milliman revealed that anywhere from 40% to 60% of all emergency room episodes could have actually been treated by an urgent care clinic.
If your child is having a severe allergic reaction or is suffering blunt-force trauma, see an emergency room immediately.
What Are Urgent Care Clinics Used For?
Urgent care clinics, to compare, are used to address issues that don’t fit neatly in an emergency room setting or when you’re visiting a family doctor. Comprehensive specialized pediatric care extends to the urgent care field. There are over 20,000 physicians who practice urgent care in the United States and this area of expertise is rapidly expanding as an essential part of the healthcare landscape. The average urgent care center sees 340 patients on a weekly basis, according to studies provided by the Urgent Care Association Of America.
Around 60% of urgent care centers will have a wait time of 15 minutes or less, with 65% having a physician on-site at all times.
What Are Common Minor Health Issues For Children?
When you need assistance in maintaining your child’s health, let comprehensive specialized pediatric care help. Some of the most common health issues that require the aid of an urgent care center are abdominal pain, headaches, rashes, cuts, sprained ankles and chest pain. It is up to you to assess the severity of the pain and determine whether your child’s current condition will be better suited for an emergency room or an urgent care room. Remember, however, some areas offer hybrid models that can provide both in the same location.
Seeing an urgent care center instead of an emergency room, when necessary, will save you a significant amount of money.
What Are Common Moderate Health Issues For Children?
Perhaps your child is dealing with more moderate pain. A very frequent issue that causes significant distress for children is that of ear infections. These are infections that are caused by a build-up of wax in the ear, sometimes compounded by smaller-than-average ear canals, and can cause fever-like symptoms, chronic headaches and even the onset of hearing loss if not properly treated. The majority of urgent care centers, as determined by 2014 studies, operate seven days per week and are open for four hours per day or longer.
Additional moderate health issues include asthma, migraines and the flu.
What Else Should I Know About My Child’s Health?
Preventative health care is just as important as treating symptoms as they arise. Comprehensive specialized pediatric care can provide you effective treatment as well as tips on how to keep your child’s health in order all days of the year. This means taking your child for regular check-ups, encouraging a healthy diet, promoting a physical exercise routine and ensuring they receive their vaccinations on a yearly basis. Not only does the latter discourage catching common illnesses, it keeps other children safe from infection.
A family medical center is always ready to help. Arm yourself with the knowledge required to keep both you and your child feeling great even when life has curve balls at the ready.
