When people become ill or when they sustain injuries they need medical help. Unfortunately, regardless of how urgent the need is, the availability of competent medical help is directly related to the amount of money you have. The vast majority of people cannot afford the exorbitant fees charged by doctors, specialists and hospitals. They cannot even afford medical insurance. At least at a walk in clinic Tampa patients can get basic treatment and advice.
Even though there are more than eleven thousand of these clinics spread over nine thousand regions, they are not regulated in any way and there is no overall controlling body that coordinates their efforts. Some clinics are run by charities and churches, many of them are run by pharmacies in shopping malls and a few of them by local authorities. Most clinics offer their services free of charge and the rest charge but a minimal fee.
Because there is no coordination between the clinics, the services that they offer differ. Some of them will treat minor ailments and wounds while some will only deal with emergency cases. Others focus solely on the care of infants and pregnant women. One therefore has to know the scope of the treatment offered by a clinic before visiting one otherwise a lot of time can be wasted.
Despite the limited services offered by clinics they remain extremely popular. After all, what choice does one have when there is no money to pay a private doctor or hospital. Many patients to these clinics go there because they are not asked any questions about where they come from, whether they have citizenship or what their personal backgrounds are.
Clinics have many critics. They agree that the clinics perform a vital role in matters related to primary health care but they criticize the fact that the level of service offered remains at a very basic level. They also criticize the fact that patients have to join long queues and wait hours before being seen. This overload of patients means that those attending them do not have sufficient time to spend with each patient.
The fact that very few patients ever see a doctor is also a point of contention. The vast majority of clinics have no permanent doctor and many others only have doctors for an hour or two a week. This means that the majority of patients are treated symptomatically. Nurses are not trained to make diagnoses and they are not allowed to prescribe scheduled medication.
Critics are also worried about the fact that treatment at these clinics is provided without any access to the medical history of the patient. Such histories are vital to any doctor worth his salt. It is difficult to decide upon an appropriate treatment regime if the doctor does not know what medication the patient use, what allergies he have and what conditions he has been treated for in the past.
Even though they are desperately short of resources, free clinics perform a very valuable service to the communities that they serve. Their patients simply have no alternatives and have to accept whatever help they can get. One hope, however, that better access to medical care will become a bigger priority for authorities at all levels of government.
Even though there are more than eleven thousand of these clinics spread over nine thousand regions, they are not regulated in any way and there is no overall controlling body that coordinates their efforts. Some clinics are run by charities and churches, many of them are run by pharmacies in shopping malls and a few of them by local authorities. Most clinics offer their services free of charge and the rest charge but a minimal fee.
Because there is no coordination between the clinics, the services that they offer differ. Some of them will treat minor ailments and wounds while some will only deal with emergency cases. Others focus solely on the care of infants and pregnant women. One therefore has to know the scope of the treatment offered by a clinic before visiting one otherwise a lot of time can be wasted.
Despite the limited services offered by clinics they remain extremely popular. After all, what choice does one have when there is no money to pay a private doctor or hospital. Many patients to these clinics go there because they are not asked any questions about where they come from, whether they have citizenship or what their personal backgrounds are.
Clinics have many critics. They agree that the clinics perform a vital role in matters related to primary health care but they criticize the fact that the level of service offered remains at a very basic level. They also criticize the fact that patients have to join long queues and wait hours before being seen. This overload of patients means that those attending them do not have sufficient time to spend with each patient.
The fact that very few patients ever see a doctor is also a point of contention. The vast majority of clinics have no permanent doctor and many others only have doctors for an hour or two a week. This means that the majority of patients are treated symptomatically. Nurses are not trained to make diagnoses and they are not allowed to prescribe scheduled medication.
Critics are also worried about the fact that treatment at these clinics is provided without any access to the medical history of the patient. Such histories are vital to any doctor worth his salt. It is difficult to decide upon an appropriate treatment regime if the doctor does not know what medication the patient use, what allergies he have and what conditions he has been treated for in the past.
Even though they are desperately short of resources, free clinics perform a very valuable service to the communities that they serve. Their patients simply have no alternatives and have to accept whatever help they can get. One hope, however, that better access to medical care will become a bigger priority for authorities at all levels of government.
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You can get a summary of the factors to consider before choosing a clinic and more info about an excellent walk in clinic Tampa area at http://www.medclinicfl.com/what-we-do right now.
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