Urgent care, MedExpress popular options in changing healthcare field
Urgent care facilities like MedExpress are becoming a popular, more efficient option.
Dr. Taranath, regional medical director for MedExpress based in Reading
Whether it’s stitches for a laceration or a physical for a highschooler’s soccer team, urgent care facilities like MedExpress are becoming a popular, more efficient option.
“In this day and age, everyone’s time matters,” said Dr. Dheeraj Taranath, a medical director at MedExpress.
With a laugh, Taranath added that the biggest double standard in healthcare is in the scheduling of family doctor appointments, where patients are often delayed by two to three hours.
“God forbid you show up 20 minutes late and you have to pay for it,” he added. “That’s one of the biggest reasons why people use urgent care and MedExpress.”
According to Taranath, urgent care itself is “a place where you can get the care you need when you need it.”
“If you only have a window of time — like two hours before soccer practice or when you have to pick up your kids — you can get in and be seen on your time,” he said. “You’re seen quickly and efficiently so you can get back on your way and not have to take time off work.”
Taranath also noted the efficiency of services that might otherwise require a timely wait in the emergency room.
“In the past, people would go to the emergency room because doctors couldn’t do same-day appointments,” Taranath said.
Emergency rooms also typically have a high wait-time and copays and are more expensive, overall. It’s because of those reasons, as well, that more urgent care facilities are popping up, he said.
Taranath added that MedExpress is one of the largest, if not the largest, urgent care facilities in terms of services. They can treat any number of acute illnesses or injuries, as well as any symptoms ranging from a UTI, a sinus or ear infection, fever, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, or musculoskeletal injuries like a sprained ankle or tweaked knee, Taranath said.
“People might also not realize that we offer X-ray capabilities on sight. That might help determine if it’s a sprain or a fracture,” he said, noting that if it’s the former, the medical staff can work to splint it or refer them to a specialist.
“Or if you have a laceration, you can get stitches here,” he said. “Most people think they have to go to the emergency room for that, but here, you don’t have to wait for hours and hours. Time is the most valuable thing that we can provide.”
According to the MedExpress website, up to 90 percent of emergency room visits can be treated at MedExpress, and they cost significantly less. Data on their website indicates that the average emergency room visit is about $1,423 and could take as long as four hours, while the average urgent care visit costs $155, with under an hour.
MedExpress also offers other minor procedures like foreign body removal or absence draining, or treat those who need IV fluids, have toenail injuries, or if certain times of the year bother asthmatics, provide them with breathing treatments.
According to Taranath, the main difference between MedExpress and other urgent care facilities is that MedExpress “focuses on treating each patient individually to make sure their experience is out of this world.”
“We want them to come in a feel like they were cared for, even from the people that greet them,” he added. “That’s what we train our staff and medical providers to go — being genuine, caring and friendly.”
This time of year, Taranath also stressed that MedExpress offers flu shots.
“People get complacent about flu shots in the fall, but the reality is that people die of the flu,” he said.
They also offer routine physicals, which might be a perk for parents of athletes.
“Many times, kids will come home and say they need a physical before they can get back on the field. With a family doctor, it might be six weeks before there’s an opening,” Taranath said, adding that they can offer same-day physicals at MedExpress.
“We’re open 363 days a year from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.,” he added. “You don’t have to think twice about coming here.”