Washington DC Urgent Care
Washington DC Urgent Care is
dedicated to helping patients in
need of immediate health care
locate Ugent Care Centers,
Convenience Care Clinics (RetailClinics)
and private doctors who offer
walk in appointments and same
day doctor visits in the Washington DC area.
Washington DC Urgent Care
will help patients seeking
immediate care understand the
differences between urgent care
centers, retail clinics and
physicians willing to see same
day patient appointments in
Washington DC in order to
assist them in determining where
to obtain appropriate care.
Finding a doctor in
Washington DC willing to
accept same day appointments can
be difficult.
Washington DC Urgent Care
will serve as a directory to
help patients locate these same
day doctors in
Washington DC and obtain
access to care.
The common thread to all three
of these medical establishments
is immediate access to health
care. A survey released in
August 2008 found that 73
percent of people said they had
difficulty getting access to
their doctor when they needed
to. Thirty percent of those
surveyed reported that it was
hard to get a next-day
appointment when they were sick.
Sixty percent said it was
difficult to get care from their
personal doctor on weekends or
in the evening. Greater than 40
percent of respondents said
that, even during regular
business hours, they had trouble
getting advice from their doctor
on the telephone. Urgent care
centers, Retail Clinics and
private doctors offering same
day appointments throughout Washington DC focus on improving
health care access to patients
with immediate need.
Comparison of Establishments
Offering Immediate Non
Emergent Medical Care
Urgent Care
Convenience Clinics
Private Doctors
Walk Ins Welcome
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XXXX
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Offer Same Day
Appointments
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Wide Range of Services
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Treat Urgent Conditions
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Service Oriented Views
Patients as Customers
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Continuity of Care is a
Central Component
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Urgent Care Centers:
Although there in no nationally
accepted definition of what
exactly is an urgent care
center, their scope of services
falls between the primary care
doctors office and the emergency
room. Urgent Care centers offer
acute, non-emergent care
emphasizing customer service.
Most Washington DC Urgent Care
centers offer walk in visits,
extended weekday and weekend
hours as well as expanded
services compared to primary
care doctors offices.
Many services provided in Washington DC Urgent Care centers
are offered in primary care
doctor's offices. In addition
they usually include on site
radiology, as well as laceration
repair, administration of
intravenous fluids, occupational
health care, on site laboratory
testing and on site medication
dispensing.
The first urgent care centers in
the United States opened in the
1980's and that number has grown
to more than 12,000 to 20,000
centers today. Although most
Urgent Care centers accept
patients of all ages some
specialize only in pediatric
patients.
For a national directory of urgent care centers and medical offices offering same day visits
please see www.locateurgentcare.com
Below is a list of Washington DC Urgent Care Centers
Farragut Medical & Travel Care
815 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC - (202) 775-8500
Arlington Urgent Care Center
1311 S Fern St, Arlington, VA - (703) 418-8900
Advanced Urgent Medical Care
6020 Richmond Hwy, Alexandria, VA - (703) 329-1037
Drs Michael and Kerri Gray
4314 Montgomery Ave, Bethesda, MD - (301) 951-3606
McLean Immediate Care Inc
1340 Old Chain Bridge Road, Mc Lean, VA - (703) 893-2273
Loehmanns walkin clinic
7283 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church,, VA - (703) 846-9555
A Quality First Heathcare System - Urgent Medical Care Center
10905 Fort Washington Rd, Fort Washington, MD - (301) 292-9290
Washington DC Convenient Care Clinics
(Retail Clinics)
According to the Convenient Care
Association Convenient Care
Clinics are small health care
facilities located in convenient
settings accessible to the
public. They provide non-
emergency services to walk-in
patients, regardless of
insurance status, at affordable
prices seven days a week.
Convenient Care Clinics are
primarily staffed by advanced
practice nurses, including nurse
practitioners. Convenient Care
Clinics may also be staffed by
physician assistants and/or
physicians. Convenient Care
Clinics provide quality care for
common episodic ailments, as
well as immunizations,
physicals, and health
screenings. As of November 2007,
there were close to 800
Convenient Care Clinics in the
United States. This number is
predicted to grow to 1500 by the
end of 2008.
Their scope of services are extremely limited compared to both Urgent Care centers and physicians offices who accept walk in patients. These sites are not designed to address urgent issues. Lacerations and minor fractures for example would not be cared for in these Convenience Care Clinic settings. Much like Urgent Care centers, continuity of care with patient follow up is not a primary focus of these Retail Clinics.
Below is a list of Washington DC Convenience
Care Clinics /Retail Clinics
Fairfax Convenient Care
8301 Arlington Blvd, Fairfax, VA - (703) 849-0900
Convenient Care
6785 Business Pkwy, Elkridge, MD - (410) 782-4300
Private physicians offices offering same day appointments:
Many private physicians in
both primary care and various
specialties throughout Washington DC have begun to
recognize the need for providing
immediate access to patients in
need of urgent and less urgent
immediate medical care. The
services offered by these
private physicians varies from
doctor to doctor and is
consistent with the services
customarily offered in their
office.
Some of these Washington DC doctors
have established their practice
as a Concierge medical practice.
In doing so they limit their
patient volume and provide
immediate access in exchange for
a yearly fee. Other physicians
have added extended office hours
and employed
Physician Assistants and nurse
practitioners to assist in
immediate patient care.
The obvious advantage is that
patients receive continuity of
care from their private
physicians with whom they
already have an established
relationship.