Is "Duck Itch" here yet?

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by newbiesaukee

what would a reasonable fee be for this service in an emergency room staffed to take care of medical emergencies?

Around $924.00

[tis]

There really should be more walk in clinics. I am surprised Laconia doesn't have one. It IS hard to get an appt. if you don't have a regular doctor and even then, there are weekends and days off when the doctor won't see you.

[WakeboardMom]

Originally Posted by tis

There really should be more walk in clinics. I am surprised Laconia doesn't have one. It IS hard to get an appt. if you don't have a regular doctor and even then, there are weekends and days off when the doctor won't see you.

We have had to resort to an ER my son came to visit with the grandkids. They live in an area where Urgent Care clinics are the norm, and they would much have preferred to go to one of those rather than the ER.

This past summer and the previous one, grandson #1 developed some type of infection over the fourth of July. In '11 they took him to Speare ER in Plymouth; this year they rode it out and it turned out to be foot-and-mouth disease. An urgent care clinic anywhere within a 20-mile radius of Moultonborough would've been most helpful.

[fatlazyless]

It was more than just the red skin irritations of the duck itch which was a very bad case and over a wide area of both mine and her bodies; it was the swelling of both my girlfriend's arms and hands, from the elbows to the fingers, plus some swelling in the legs which required a quick trip to the E.R. for her, for a medical diagnosis and prescription for prednisone. I did not have a terrible reaction to the duck itch myself, but she did .........having both arms and hands swell up like that was very scary....but not as scary as the bill from th E.R. !

Today's Oct 24, LaDaSun has a lead article "LRG Healthcare Adding Walk-in Clinic" at their Laconia hospital.

[Winnisquamguy]

Originally Posted by tis

There really should be more walk in clinics. I am surprised Laconia doesn't have one. It IS hard to get an appt. if you don't have a regular doctor and even then, there are weekends and days off when the doctor won't see you.

Well here you go.......

Published Date

Written by Michael Kitch

LACONIA — Next month, LRGHealthcare expects to open Convenience Care at Lakes Region General Hospital, a walk-in clinic providing treatment for common injuries and illnesses as well as shots and preventative services at affordable costs.
Dr. Paul Racicot, who oversees emergency medicine at LRGHealthcare, said yesterday that Convenience Care will serve as a bridge between primary care and emergency services, by offering an alternative to both at less cost than either. Unlike an office visit, no appointment will be necessary and unlike the emergency room, patients will be spared long waits for treatment.
The clinic will operate from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. seven days a week. Treatment will be provided for colds, flu, sore throats, ear aches, allegories, sprains, minor burns, cuts, and aches and pains. aches. Racicot characterized the process as "self-diagnosis" or "self-triage," stressing that because the clinic is part of the hospital, if injuries or illnesses require more intensive treatment than it can provide, patients can be transferred quickly and easily to the appropriate setting.
Health insurance companies, Racicot explained, are increasingly directing patients to the least expensive point of service. Since Convenience Care will qualify, patients will be able to optimize their coverage. He said that the clinic will benefit employers, who will be less likely to exceed the limits of their workers compensation coverage when employees require treatment for injuries suffered on the job.
Meanwhile, the walk-in clinic will reduce congestion in the emergency room, while enabling personnel to concentrate their energies on genuine medical emergencies .
Racicot said that LRGH had planned to open the walk-in clinic in the summer, but was delayed by clearing a number of regulatory hurdles. He said that the renovation and reconfiguration of space adjacent to the main lobby is nearly complete and hopes the new service will be available in November.
Meanwhile, ConvenientMD , LLC, of Portsmouth plans to break ground for a similar, free-standing facility in Concord as soon as next week. According to material provided by Max Puyanic, the company's chief executive officer, patients going to emergency room in New Hampshire waited an average of nearly four hours and paid co-pays of between $100 and $250 for treatment in 2009. The clinic anticipates swerving patients within a 30-mile radius, which would include Laconia.
Racicot acknowledged that private providers have been opening walk-in clinics for some time, especially in affluent communities and neighborhoods and that LRGHealthcare was responding to the trend. He suggested that placing its walk-in clinic in the hospital, with ready access to an extensive range of medical services, gave LRGH an advantage over free-standing counterparts.

[fatlazyless]

That sure sounds like what we could have used over at Speare Hospital in Plymouth, "Convenience Care", and then if the nurse arnp or whoever checks you out at the intro, and decides that you are material for the E.R., then knowing what an E.R. bill of $924 looks like, then you have the choice to say no-thanks, and go to the Dollar Tree store meds, or Wal-Mart over-the-counter remedies or where-ever, as opposed to being on the hook for a gigantic bill.

Needless to say............safety and good health habits pay big...........just to stay the heck out of the E.R. !

[tis]

Originally Posted by Winnisquamguy

Well here you go.......

Published Date

Written by Michael Kitch

LACONIA — Next month, LRGHealthcare expects to open Convenience Care at Lakes Region General Hospital, a walk-in clinic providing treatment for common injuries and illnesses as well as shots and preventative services at affordable costs.
Dr. Paul Racicot, who oversees emergency medicine at LRGHealthcare, said yesterday that Convenience Care will serve as a bridge between primary care and emergency services, by offering an alternative to both at less cost than either. Unlike an office visit, no appointment will be necessary and unlike the emergency room, patients will be spared long waits for treatment.
The clinic will operate from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. seven days a week. Treatment will be provided for colds, flu, sore throats, ear aches, allegories, sprains, minor burns, cuts, and aches and pains. aches. Racicot characterized the process as "self-diagnosis" or "self-triage," stressing that because the clinic is part of the hospital, if injuries or illnesses require more intensive treatment than it can provide, patients can be transferred quickly and easily to the appropriate setting.
Health insurance companies, Racicot explained, are increasingly directing patients to the least expensive point of service. Since Convenience Care will qualify, patients will be able to optimize their coverage. He said that the clinic will benefit employers, who will be less likely to exceed the limits of their workers compensation coverage when employees require treatment for injuries suffered on the job.
Meanwhile, the walk-in clinic will reduce congestion in the emergency room, while enabling personnel to concentrate their energies on genuine medical emergencies .
Racicot said that LRGH had planned to open the walk-in clinic in the summer, but was delayed by clearing a number of regulatory hurdles. He said that the renovation and reconfiguration of space adjacent to the main lobby is nearly complete and hopes the new service will be available in November.
Meanwhile, ConvenientMD , LLC, of Portsmouth plans to break ground for a similar, free-standing facility in Concord as soon as next week. According to material provided by Max Puyanic, the company's chief executive officer, patients going to emergency room in New Hampshire waited an average of nearly four hours and paid co-pays of between $100 and $250 for treatment in 2009. The clinic anticipates swerving patients within a 30-mile radius, which would include Laconia.
Racicot acknowledged that private providers have been opening walk-in clinics for some time, especially in affluent communities and neighborhoods and that LRGHealthcare was responding to the trend. He suggested that placing its walk-in clinic in the hospital, with ready access to an extensive range of medical services, gave LRGH an advantage over free-standing counterparts.

That sounds great. I hope it is a true walk in care clinic.

A few years ago Huggins was going to have a sort of clinic where if you just had a sore throat, colds, flu etc. you would be treated as if you went to the clinic instead of the emergency room. The problem was I never knew anyone who got treated at the clinic price. It didn't last very long. I hate to state the obvious but I have the feeling a hospital would rather have you go to the emergency room because they get a lot more money.

[Newbiesaukee]

This is totally a guess, but I think that a hospital would do just fine with a walk-in clinic, I doubt that their referring to the ER is really part of the plan; except, of course, if it is an emergency.

In Miami, the largest of the local hospitals (not part of a large for-profit chain) has established multiple walk-in clinics throughout the county, often in shopping centers. My wife and I have used them for several acute but not emergency issues such as ear infections and "pink-eye." We have been very pleased with the care and the system itself. The severe "duck-itch" that FLL described is exactly the type of problem that lends itself to this type of care.