7 Tips to Stay Healthy During Cold and Flu Season
This article is updated for the 2024–2025 flu season. By now you’re probably expecting to hear about getting...
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Healthcare in New York has always been a big deal. As early as the '90s, there was been hopeful legislation designed to provide affordable healthcare, and in 2012, 70 lawmakers in the state sponsored the Single Payer Medicare-for-All proposal. It was deemed necessary because, even in bustling New York City, there are areas that lack primary care physicians.
While large towns and cities such as Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo have a wealth of hospitals and healthcare systems such as Bassett, St. Mary's and New York-Presbyterian have representation in many areas, there are rural sections of the state without adequate medical facilities.
New York winters often lead to problems with the young and the elderly, whether the health issues involve debilitating flu seasons or injuries caused by snow removal, cold temperatures, and inadequate heating. The summers can lead to outbreaks of meningitis or Lyme disease during any given year, and heat stroke is a common problem.
Migrant workers who pick fruit or harvest on the state's many sprawling farms fall victim to any number of problems, but don't always have the necessary coverage to take care of their problems. They also fear going to hospitals and private doctors offices.
As a result, many residents, especially those in Upstate and Central New York, often prefer going to urgent care centers for their woes. In some areas, such as Little Falls and Dolgeville, the nearest fully equipped hospital is 30 miles away, yet there's an urgent care in the next town over. There, residents can get the treatment they need without paying out fees they simply can't afford, nor do they have to risk driving far for immediate care.
In New York City, like most everything else, urgent care centers are in abundance. Additionally, other types of walk-in clinics, such as retail clinics are available for lower cost options given their staffing differences. So, despite having one of the more robust hospital environments in the world, New York residents and visitors have plenty of walk-in clinic options available for most healthcare needs.
The price charged at an urgent care, whether in New York or elsewhere, will be based on the location, and there are no actual standard costs between the clinics. Assuming you are paying with cash, you might come across an urgent clinic that charges you $50 while another situated some mile away charges you $100 for the same services. The standard cost in urgent care where insurance cover is not involved ranges from $100 to $125. This price is generally the standard price of a visit before extra services. There are a couple of additional care services that could make your appointment to an urgent care costly including x-rays and lab tests, medications and injections (such as immunization), casting broken bones, as well as stitches and splints. If you have a viable insurance plan in place, the standard pay will be between $20 – 50 depending on your insurance coverage and whether you are in contact with the provider.
Most primary care doctor offices are open during routine work hours, Monday thru Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Conversely, most of the urgent care centers in New York are available after hours, on weekends, and many holidays. Typical urgent care hours are 8:00 am to 8:00 pm daily, although location-specific hours may vary.
Historically, urgent care centers were strictly an on-demand, walk-in healthcare service mode. More recently, as consumer behaviors and expectations have evolved, many urgent care clinics have begun offering book ahead visits, allowing consumers to select a same-day or next-day time that works best for their schedule. Use Solv to find a New York urgent care center that offers advanced bookings (or appointments) and book online.
Solv allows New York residents and visitors to book urgent care visits online with just a few taps. Same-day and next-day visit times are generally available, and you can search for real-time availability clinics.
Solv allows you to find any of the urgent care and walk-in clinics in New York, many of which accept most major commercial insurances. Just browse the clinics page to see if your carrier and plan is listed. If you are still unsure, it is best to contact the urgent care center directly for clarification.
Many urgent care centers, including those in New York, now offer virtual visits or telemedicine for residents and visitors throughout the state. Virtual urgent care visits are generally booked online whether in advance or on-demand. Clinics that do offer virtual care have a video icon on their profiles.
While it would be easy to provide a list of urgent care centers in and around New York, 'best' is a challenging term to qualify. For some consumers, that could mean the closest location whereas other people may prioritize patient reviews, service costs, availability, or whether or not the provider accepts their insurance. With the list of locations above, use the filters provided to narrow the results to find the best urgent care for your needs.
Urgent care is available to assist patients that are looking for immediate, convenient medical care. In that manner, they are similar to an emergency room. The difference, however, is that ERs are meant to treat major, life-threatening injuries and illnesses while urgent care centers manage life’s minor bruises and bumps. In simple terms, an urgent care is seen as a walk-in health center that focuses in offering non-emergent health care conditions, including the treatment of the typical illnesses and injuries such as fractures and sprains, cuts and burns, scrapes, stings and bites, flu and cold symptoms, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, and much more. Most urgent care facilities offer both diagnostic and preventive care such as well visits, immunizations, STD testing and annual physicals. For regular visits and check-ups on these clinics, you should expect to pay between $20 and $100. The good thing is that most urgent care clinics will accept major PPOs and insurance cover, Medicare, as well as self-pay in the form of credit cards or cash. Urgent care clinics are located in most parts of the country in various regions to offset emergency room visits and provide a gap in healthcare services. They take patients during all hours of operations, which offer a significant convenience to most people who have and continue to undergo the need for sudden and immediate medical attention.
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