As we near the middle of the cold and flu season, it is important to remember that it is important to take care of the things that you can do to stay healthy and feel your best. From flu vaccines to ward off the latest strain of the flu virus to eating healthy foods, drinking plenty of water, and getting the right amount of rest, it is important that you are doing everything within your power to stay healthy.

There are many times in life, however, when we do not feel our best. We catch colds, we break bones, and we have to stay home with children who are not feeling well. Finding a way to avoid getting sick or getting hurt is a great goal, but when things do not go as planned it is important to know where to go to get the health care services that you need. Today’s world provides four specific ways where you can get the health care that you need: walk in urgent care centers, hospitals, traditional physician and pediatrician office visits, and virtual doctors.
Walk In Health Clinics Offer Convenient and Affordable Health Care
There are many times when your health needs occur in the evening or on the weekend. During the hours when you cannot get in to see your regular health care provider, a walk in urgent care center is the perfect option. Even when your illness happens during regular business hours, it is often more important to get the care that you need in a platform where you do not need to wait days to get an appointment, making a 24 hour urgent care a perfect solution.
Often with costs that are posted for all visitors, there are plenty of reasons why a walk in health clinic can be very affordable. Without the expensive overhead of a hospital or a full service pediatrician or physician’s office, it is important to know that there are walk in locations where the cost will not be prohibitive.

Hospitals Are the Obvious Choice for Emergency Situations
When you or someone in your family is in an emergency situation, it is important to make sure that you get the emergency care that you need. Instead of wasting time by visiting a physician or a walk in clinic, only to later be sent to a hospital for the emergency services that you need, it is important to get emergency services right away.

Hospitals are uniquely positioned to provide a number of emergency services that can help you in a number of situations. From painful broken bones that require surgery to symptoms that indicate a possible heart attack, it is important to know that there are times when a hospital visit is the obvious answer.

Family Pediatricians and Physicians Offer Routine Care to Their Patients
When it is time to schedule well visits for babies or it is time to get an annual physical, many of us make the decision to visit our family physician or pediatrician. These are the kinds of appointments that can be scheduled weeks, and sometimes months, in advance. In addition to regularly scheduled visits, your family doctor also keeps time open for wellness checks when unusual or concerning symptoms develop.

Virtual Doctors Continue to Grow in Popularity

for patients who live a long ways from a health care center or for patients who need frequent monitoring, a virtual doctor can be a good solution. A patient who has a pace maker, for instance, can check in with a virtual doctor on a regular monthly basis and then go in for an in person visit once or twice a year. Virtual, or online doctors, provide convenient medical care in an increasing number of places around the country. From on-demand care that can help a doctor look at a rash or other symptom to determine if it requires an office visit to a virtual doctor who makes calls to patients who live hours from the office, this telemedicine platform continues to expand.

It does not have to be the middle of cold and flu season for someone in your family to need medical care. Fortunately, there are many great options.