Dr Steve
07-02-2008, 01:14 PM
A friend of mine has a concern about a blotchiness on the surface of a particular part of her body which she attributes to a sexual experience. She needs a check up. But as a non-American on a student visa, how does she go about finding a doctor--mine won't take any new patients--and will she be charged an arm and a leg?
In most cases, having a regular doctor who knows you is the best plan. However, this is the kind of thing that COULD be easily diagnosed in an urgent care center. Looking at BCBS for North Carolina's website, the average cost for an urgent care visit was under $200 with the low being $104. This should translate to just about anywhere in the country, plus or minus a few dollars. Urgent care centers are pretty good for limited problems that don't require ongoing treatment, they'll see anyone, and if you go at the start of the business day the wait is usually very short. They're not great for ongoing problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, and other conditions that benefit from "continuity of care" (where you see someone who actually gets to know you and know your medical problems over time).
The problem with the urgent care idea is if they diagnose something chronic and it needs biopsy or something like that...then she may have to start all over at a specialist's office, but that's a risk that might be worth taking to save some time and money.
Look in the yellow pages under physicians and surgeons...there should be a listing of all the urgent care centers in your area. I'd definitely avoid going to an emergency room over this...they're great for trauma and acutely ill patients, but not so good at stuff like this (and it ain't an emergency.)
hope this helps!
your friend,
Steve
reference: http://www.bcbsnc.com/apps/cost-estimator/cost-comparison.jsp
In most cases, having a regular doctor who knows you is the best plan. However, this is the kind of thing that COULD be easily diagnosed in an urgent care center. Looking at BCBS for North Carolina's website, the average cost for an urgent care visit was under $200 with the low being $104. This should translate to just about anywhere in the country, plus or minus a few dollars. Urgent care centers are pretty good for limited problems that don't require ongoing treatment, they'll see anyone, and if you go at the start of the business day the wait is usually very short. They're not great for ongoing problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, and other conditions that benefit from "continuity of care" (where you see someone who actually gets to know you and know your medical problems over time).
The problem with the urgent care idea is if they diagnose something chronic and it needs biopsy or something like that...then she may have to start all over at a specialist's office, but that's a risk that might be worth taking to save some time and money.
Look in the yellow pages under physicians and surgeons...there should be a listing of all the urgent care centers in your area. I'd definitely avoid going to an emergency room over this...they're great for trauma and acutely ill patients, but not so good at stuff like this (and it ain't an emergency.)
hope this helps!
your friend,
Steve
reference: http://www.bcbsnc.com/apps/cost-estimator/cost-comparison.jsp