Blog #2: After-Hours Health Care Centers: A Way to Improve Quality Health Care

It has been estimated that over half the visits that individuals pay to go to the emergency room can be avoided or handled at an urgent after-hour health care center (Tama, 2005). The quality of care provided in emergency rooms will most definitely improve if individuals, along with their families, can gain access to an after-hour health care center near their neighborhood. Recently, I stumbled upon an article published on June 11, 2009 titled “After-Hours Doctor Calls Save Holland Money” written by Patti Neighmond. The extract briefly describes United States’ current health care system with the Netherlands. Nowadays, there has been an outrageous amount of Americans that are either underinsured or uninsured. To break it down into further discussion, this means that a great proportion of the U.S.’s population do not have a primary physician or a primary care provider in which they visit on a regular basis.

When something abrupt occurs out of the norm, a lot of people end up in their nearest hospital emergency room. Two different common scenarios occur over and over again at the emergency room. Scenario one: half of the visits from individuals going into the ER are categorized as non-urgent. This clearly means that patients could have been treated effectively in a regular doctor’s office or a neighborhood clinic in the first place. Scenario two: costs for emergency room visits has been increasing more and more over the past few decades and a lot of ERs nationwide “have had to close their doors or limit their hours as a result of out of control, burdensome costs” (Neighmond, 2009).

After-hour health care centers provide services to individuals and families who have medical situations and issues that are not considered an emergency, but still require some form of an immediate attention. The health centers, for the most part, are open beyond their normal business hours of 8:00am to the standard 5:00pm Monday through Friday. Some health care centers provide flexible hours of operation to help working families visit the hospitals or clinics after 5:00pm either on a walk-in basis or with a scheduled appointment. Neighmond points out that in the Netherlands, there are primary health care providers that are available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week for their citizens. The United States health care system needs to quickly adopt such methods as well. In the short run, it may not be as effective because not a lot of people are aware of the after-hour health care centers. Nevertheless, in the long run, not only will individuals reduce the costs of their ambulance fees, but they will also receive better quality of care with friendlier physicians who can spend more time really focusing on the issues at hand. Eventually, this will be better for any individual’s health care budget. Emergency rooms can provide better services to patients who are really either in danger or in the need of immediate attention.

Currently, there are many children that end up in the emergency room with a condition that is clearly not classified as an ‘emergency’. It is not hard to understand why parents end up taking their children to the ERs. First of all, parents can take their children to the hospital without waiting for an appointment. Second, the ER is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Parents are not aware that there are cheaper alternative health care services for their children during the weekday and on the weekends. The American health care system must educate parents about after-hour health care center’s availabilities. Perhaps they may have to provide such individuals and families with an incentive to use such after-hour clinics, instead of having them turn to emergency room visits for common services that are not considered an emergency after all. With after-hour health care centers, patients will receive better quality of care regardless whether the visit is done on a walk-in basis or with a scheduled appointment. Patients will still be seen by a board-certified doctor or by a primary care physician. Treatments, for the most part, are available for patients of all ages. If additional medical assistance is required beyond the expertise of the primary care physician, the proper referrals will be made to the right specialist. If an immediate life threatening situation occurs, the majority of the after-hour health care centers will arrange a form of transportation for patients to the nearest emergency room around the community.

Some of the following common services listed below demonstrate what an after-hour urgent care health center can handle:

-Minor asthma-related symptoms
-Minor cuts
-Minor skin rashes
-Animal bites with controlled bleeding
-Minor sunburns or burns
-Broken bones or sprains
-Earaches and ear infections
-Coughs or sore throats
-Fever
-Illness related to nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea
-Bladder infections
-Minor upper respiratory problems
-Insomnia

After-hour health care centers will dramatically improve the quality of health care provided to many individuals and families residing within the United States. This will prove itself especially useful and functional for individuals and families who work during the normal business hours. These centers are continually expanding; however, it is essential that such health care centers are made accessible for the majority of the population.

• References
• Neighmond, P. (2009, June 11). After-Hours Doctor Calls Save Holland Money. In National Public Radio. Retrieved June 11, 2009, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92606938
• Tama, M. (2005, March 26). Emergency room visits reach record high. In MSNBC. Retrieved June 11, 2009, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7995137/