The Urgent Advantage: Care Without the Wait

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spk_0 Here about the uses and benefits of urgent care services with Dr. Rob Klein, Dr. Klein

spk_0 is physician and medical director at San Juan Health Partners Urgent Care.

spk_0 This is Celebrate Health from San Juan Regional Medical Center.

spk_0 I'm your host Amanda Wilde, welcome to the podcast Dr. Klein.

spk_0 Thank you.

spk_0 Good morning.

spk_0 Hopefully, a good morning for those of us who are seeking care.

spk_0 I'm wondering, when do we go to urgent care?

spk_0 What is urgent care?

spk_0 How does that differ from the emergency room and primary care?

spk_0 Generally, I sometimes think of urgent care as a little bit of a bridge between those two

spk_0 indispensable tools and the community.

spk_0 Definitely not an alternative to the ER for non-life threatening issues.

spk_0 The ER is completely essential, of course, but it can be a little more expensive.

spk_0 There can be longer weights at our urgent care.

spk_0 We try to see patients as quickly as possible.

spk_0 Copies and costs can be quite a bit lower.

spk_0 They still often get physician-level care.

spk_0 We try to take pressures off the emergency department by kind of managing the majority

spk_0 of urgent problems right here in the community.

spk_0 Also, we're definitely not replacing primary care, which is extremely integral to a healthy

spk_0 community, but we try to complement it.

spk_0 Many primary care offices in a lot of towns, and I know our town are booked out for weeks.

spk_0 They might also not be equipped to handle same-day emergencies like a fracture or a laceration.

spk_0 We try to fill that gap.

spk_0 Patients can walk in when something urgent comes up, get it taken care of right away,

spk_0 and then we always try to direct them towards following up with the regular primary care doctor.

spk_0 Just trying to be a supportive role, keeping people out there,

spk_0 preventing small issues from becoming big ER visits.

spk_0 Right.

spk_0 Well, the question is, when you do have an emergency, when should you go to urgent care versus emergency room?

spk_0 It's a bit of a moving target, but in general, we've got a big sign up that says minor illness in injuries.

spk_0 So definitely minor injuries are bread and butter.

spk_0 Spray, strains, fractures, burns, lacerations, which are cuts, anything needing stitches

spk_0 that isn't squirting blood across the room.

spk_0 We will try to tackle.

spk_0 And then infections, basic infections, respiratory infections, ear infections,

spk_0 urinary tract infections.

spk_0 We're coming up on respiratory season, so we're going to be seeing pneumonia asmoflareps.

spk_0 Certainly a lot of fever and flu and now COVID.

spk_0 So we see a lot of folks who've got a GI bug with vomiting and diarrhea and have dehydration

spk_0 might need some IV fluids.

spk_0 And we've, in our urgent care, got X-ray and basic lab testing.

spk_0 So we're trying to attend to that end of the spectrum of care.

spk_0 Do most emergency visits fall into that urgent care category?

spk_0 The sorts of injuries you just mentioned?

spk_0 Hard to say.

spk_0 I would say we certainly have a role in catching the non-emergency room visits, and there are a lot of them.

spk_0 It can be hard to differentiate, but if you're comfortable driving or being driven across town,

spk_0 we're happy to take a look.

spk_0 And if things supersede our abilities, we will carefully package you up and get you over to the emergency room.

spk_0 My ambulance as quickly as possible.

spk_0 So in a way, it sounds like it might be more convenient to start with urgent care,

spk_0 unless you know your emergency is so dire that you really need the emergency room.

spk_0 But I was looked at urgent cares when they first started coming out as sort of a relief for the emergency room.

spk_0 So it does sound like it does, as you said, fall in that space between primary care and emergency room care.

spk_0 What would you say the benefits are of choosing urgent care?

spk_0 I just mentioned one that it sounds more convenient.

spk_0 You mentioned it can be less expensive.

spk_0 Those are big ones.

spk_0 We have an emergency room with incredibly capable doctors, but sometimes that weight can be long.

spk_0 And we're here to try to take pressure off that and happy to see folks as quickly as possible.

spk_0 Sometimes that's immediately at times that can be longer, but cost you mentioned is a big element.

spk_0 And the year visits can be expensive and we come in at a much lower price.

spk_0 So in our particular urgent care, which is a little different than your typical urgent care, we've been here for gosh, I think 35 years, which is really coming in winter.

spk_0 And care was just a concept in its infancy.

spk_0 And so we've been part of the community.

spk_0 Most of our caregivers and clinical staff know half the people who walk in.

spk_0 So you're walking into kind of part of your own community when you see CalP there.

spk_0 And we've got quite a number of physicians compared to your typical urgent care.

spk_0 We've got four docs on staff oftentimes working there together, conferring and working on decisions together, which has been part of the reason I've loved it there so much.

spk_0 It's a place where you can get hospital level care quickly and less expensively if your issues not a clear cut emergency.

spk_0 Can you sort of outline what one could expect during a visit, just sort of how the process goes?

spk_0 Sure. So you would come in the front door, get checked in, come through our CSRs at the front desk.

spk_0 And they would, if you are needing to be seen right away, get you back into a room if you have the ability to wait for a little while, you take a seat.

spk_0 An MA or nurse would come, get you, take your vitals, bring you to a room.

spk_0 And they would present the patient to us and we would come in, got a good pay, oftentimes folks come in with one issue.

spk_0 And that's great. If other issues come up like a high blood pressure, we'll address those as well.

spk_0 We'll try to see you take care of you and hopefully get you packaged up.

spk_0 And if you need to go to the ER, we'll get you over there if you're doing well and you're stable and things are fixed.

spk_0 We'll try to have you follow up with your primary care provider shortly after.

spk_0 It really does as you say, bridge that gap because I know from going to primary care physician is someone who knows you and you know you're going to get a good pay.

spk_0 You can talk about how your body reacts to certain things and it really knows you as an individual emergency care.

spk_0 I have noticed in my few trips over a lifetime to the emergency room.

spk_0 You know, it's fixed you up and get you out.

spk_0 And if it's not a true emergency, I mean, there's not as much concern.

spk_0 If you can still swallow and breathe, you know, sometimes they'll refer you out.

spk_0 So he said this really seems like a perfect fit for things that fall in between both of those things.

spk_0 Something that's urgent, but perhaps not life threatening.

spk_0 It's a good net to span those two worlds.

spk_0 I think somebody wants called it the connective tissue between the ER and my care.

spk_0 And it's been a good role for me.

spk_0 I definitely like the pace of it, seeing more procedures and higher acuity.

spk_0 And actually over the last seven years, getting to know the community a little bit, although you're right.

spk_0 This is not a primary care relationship, which I think is invaluable to have.

spk_0 Like it's been a great community to work in.

spk_0 You mentioned some things that really set San Juan Health partners, urgent care apart,

spk_0 even as other urgent care facilities come up in the area that you've been there 35 years that you are community based in a way that other franchises are not.

spk_0 And now as medical director, what would you say is the best thing about your group at San Juan Health partners, urgent care?

spk_0 The kind of intangible that comes from all those things you just mentioned is we're really a little community within a community.

spk_0 People have worked in our office for decades.

spk_0 And when you walk in, you get the sense of a group of people who are friends at work and outside of work,

spk_0 but know how to work hard together and are able to keep each other sort of buoyant and present throughout the day.

spk_0 It's been my home away from home.

spk_0 It's a place where somebody can come in and feel like they are sort of walking into a family that is there to care for them and give them good care.

spk_0 They're not just a group of strangers who will just kind of take care, give some tests and get them out the door.

spk_0 So I think that's my favorite part.

spk_0 And honestly, one of the more effective parts of our personal care model.

spk_0 You're not just a number.

spk_0 No, you're momentarily part of a team and a family.

spk_0 I think a lot of patients feel and it's been great to see.

spk_0 Yeah, that's great support when you are injured or not feeling well.

spk_0 Exactly.

spk_0 You coming in and sometimes one of the worst days of your life.

spk_0 And so it's good to walk into a people, people who have been there and remember that and remind each other of that and form a community around the helpful in those areas.

spk_0 Well, Dr. Klein, thank you for this information about the role of urgent care in your community.

spk_0 Thank you.

spk_0 Great questions.

spk_0 And great answers, great information.

spk_0 Dr. Rob Klein is a physician and medical director at San Juan Health Partners Urgent Care.

spk_0 Visit San Juan Health Partners Urgent Care for your urgent medical needs open every day from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

spk_0 You can always learn more at sanwanregional.com.

spk_0 And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out the full podcast library for episodes that are of interest to you.

spk_0 Thanks for listening to Celebrate Health from San Juan Regional Medical Center.

The Urgent Advantage: Care Without the Wait

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