Urgent Care Facilities

An "Urgent Care" facility recently opened up in my neighborhood, and I drive by it fairly frequently. For those unfamiliar, these facilities employ medical personnel to attend to medical issues for people without a primary care physician (or who don't want to go to their PCP for the issue they're having) and non-emergency emergency room type things. The one I see has painted in large letters on their front window "School, Sports, and DOT Physicals Available" identifying some of the services they offer.

Has anyone ever gone to one of these for a physical exam? How do they compare to a "regular" doctor? Has anyone here ever gone there recreationally (when you don't require a physical and you think it just might be fun to be examined)?

I have a primary care physician. In May I had bronchitis and couldn't get an appointment with him. Receptionist gave me the option of talking to the nurse to see if they could work me in. A few weeks before, a hospital from a larger city near us opened an Urgent Care facility in our town. I decided to give them a try instead.

The staff was all very professional. The facility has an Urgent Care door, one for diagnostic services and one for private physician. I went to Urgent Care one. The receptionist there told me to just go over to the private physician entrance. Since they're still getting started, he has both private practice and sees urgent care patients. Once they are busy, he will be only private practice, and the hospital will bring in more staff for the urgent care portion. For now, they are walk-in with the doctor but also make appointments.

The staff was all very professional and friendly. I was back with a nurse only a few minutes after doing my insurance work. Yes, that can vary with how many are in the waiting room, but it was nice that morning as I felt really lousy. She took a thorough history and did all the usual vitals, putting notes into a computer. The doctor came in promptly after she left. He did a thorough check of upper respiratory, including a long auscultation resulting in "You're wheezing all over your lungs." We discussed medicine. He listened to what I had to say about what works and doesn't for me, and gave me not only the antibiotic but also another older asthma medicine 2 other doctors wouldn't, saying that it was fine for me to take occasionally as needed like I do because it works so well for me and if I found I needed to take it daily then I would need to come in for blood work regularly to watch the levels..."It's not a problem for you to be on that." I was so pleased with the visit that I am making him my PCP.

A week later I made an appointment for my daughter to have a physical done before she went to camp (required by the camp because of altitude). They worked with her school schedule that day - she was running late - and took her as soon as she arrived. She was gone long enough that I know they didn't just look at her and say, "Here you go" and sign the form. Charged the same as for a school physical.

I would NEVER go to ANY doctor recreationally. I would not waste the staff's time and resources even if they were not busy, even if I was paying out of pocket rather than defrauding insurance by filing for the play visit.

Thanks for the info i agree never unwillingly bring a true medical professional into our kink by going to a doctor for no real reason i did it once and it was wrong and i will never do it again

Allow me to wade in here. The times that I scheduled and paid for physicals in Manhattan were intended to experience a particular doctor, his office, etc. They were not play exams: the net result was that I could then share with anyone looking for a doctor what made X different from Y or Z. This predates internet sites which rate doctors. In the years that I lived in the city, numerous practices opened and numerous closed. Like any proactive patient, I was always on the lookout for a better option. If anyone has gone for a second or Thursday opinion, one is also aware that doctors differ on what they pick up on and/or diagnose. Yes, I could post on this site various experiences, but they were always self paid, real exams with real results.

That's very different, wrestler, from going to a doctor because you are feeding your kink. The original question asked "Has anyone here ever gone there recreationally (when you don't require a physical and you think it just might be fun to be examined)?" It makes lots of sense to visit a doctor you are considering to be your PCP when you are well so that if you get sick you are already established.