Without A Walk In Clinic Tampa Patients Often Get No Medical Treatment At All
It is only natural that people want the best possible medical care when they sustain injuries or when the fall ill. Sadly, very few people can afford such medical help. The fees charged by hospitals, doctors and other medical specialists are totally out of reach of the vast majority of people unless they have medical insurance. The vast number of poor people does not have medical insurance and without the services of a walk in clinic Tampa patients will be deprived of any care.
Even though there are more than eleven thousand of these clinics spread over nine thousand regions, they are not regulated in any way and there is no overall controlling body that coordinates their efforts. Some clinics are run by charities and churches, many of them are run by pharmacies in shopping malls and a few of them by local authorities. Most clinics offer their services free of charge and the rest charge but a minimal fee.
Because there is no coordination between the clinics, the services that they offer differ. Some of them will treat minor ailments and wounds while some will only deal with emergency cases. Others focus solely on the care of infants and pregnant women. One therefore has to know the scope of the treatment offered by a clinic before visiting one otherwise a lot of time can be wasted.
Despite the limited treatment offered by the clinics, they remain extremely popular. Those that cannot afford the services of private doctors and hospitals simply have no choice. Most of these clinics will treat any patient without asking questions about matters such as citizenship and other potentially embarrassing issues. Patients cannot make appointments. They simply have to turn up and wait their turn but most clinics are open for long hours every day.
Clinics have many critics. They may admit that the clinics offer at least some help to the destitute and the poor, but they insist that the level of services offered by them is hopelessly inadequate and cannot even be described as primary health care. They criticize the fact that patients have to wait many hours in a queue only to have less than five minutes when they at last see an attendant.
Critics also point out that precious few clinics have a doctor in attendance. Most have to make do with junior nurses and health workers that are not qualified to diagnose any condition or to prescribe medicine. At best they can treat the symptoms described by the patient and this means that the underlying disease causing the symptoms is never treated.
Critics are also worried about the fact that treatment at these clinics is provided without any access to the medical history of the patient. Such histories are vital to any doctor worth his salt. It is difficult to decide upon an appropriate treatment regime if the doctor does not know what medication the patient use, what allergies he have and what conditions he has been treated for in the past.
Critics may have a point when they say that these clinics cannot provide proper medical care. The reality, however, is that the vast majority of patients visiting these clinics have nowhere else to turn for medical help. At least the clinics can help to alleviate painful symptoms and to provide basic treatment.
Even though there are more than eleven thousand of these clinics spread over nine thousand regions, they are not regulated in any way and there is no overall controlling body that coordinates their efforts. Some clinics are run by charities and churches, many of them are run by pharmacies in shopping malls and a few of them by local authorities. Most clinics offer their services free of charge and the rest charge but a minimal fee.
Because there is no coordination between the clinics, the services that they offer differ. Some of them will treat minor ailments and wounds while some will only deal with emergency cases. Others focus solely on the care of infants and pregnant women. One therefore has to know the scope of the treatment offered by a clinic before visiting one otherwise a lot of time can be wasted.
Despite the limited treatment offered by the clinics, they remain extremely popular. Those that cannot afford the services of private doctors and hospitals simply have no choice. Most of these clinics will treat any patient without asking questions about matters such as citizenship and other potentially embarrassing issues. Patients cannot make appointments. They simply have to turn up and wait their turn but most clinics are open for long hours every day.
Clinics have many critics. They may admit that the clinics offer at least some help to the destitute and the poor, but they insist that the level of services offered by them is hopelessly inadequate and cannot even be described as primary health care. They criticize the fact that patients have to wait many hours in a queue only to have less than five minutes when they at last see an attendant.
Critics also point out that precious few clinics have a doctor in attendance. Most have to make do with junior nurses and health workers that are not qualified to diagnose any condition or to prescribe medicine. At best they can treat the symptoms described by the patient and this means that the underlying disease causing the symptoms is never treated.
Critics are also worried about the fact that treatment at these clinics is provided without any access to the medical history of the patient. Such histories are vital to any doctor worth his salt. It is difficult to decide upon an appropriate treatment regime if the doctor does not know what medication the patient use, what allergies he have and what conditions he has been treated for in the past.
Critics may have a point when they say that these clinics cannot provide proper medical care. The reality, however, is that the vast majority of patients visiting these clinics have nowhere else to turn for medical help. At least the clinics can help to alleviate painful symptoms and to provide basic treatment.
About the Author:
You can get a summary of the factors to consider before choosing a clinic and more info about an excellent walk in clinic Tampa area at http://www.medclinicfl.com/what-we-do right now.
No comments