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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With fewer than 20 hospitals through the State, Rhode Island has one of the lowest hospital and urgent care presence in the country. However, they claim the fourth highest number of physicians per capita. As a result, state of Rhode Island was ranked 10th in the country for overall healthcare in 2012. This brought it up three spots from 13th the year prior.
One of the problems that is keeping the state from ranking higher is the high number of preventable and unneeded hospitalizations. In addition, there is a prevalence of binge drinking, a large number of physical health and mental health days taken off of work and a higher than average smoking population one in five adults in the state smoke. People in the state use their medical facilities more than people in other states. On average, those in Rhode Island visit their doctor 4.3 times per year. Nationwide, people tend to visit their physician 3.1 times each year. While in some cases this helps the state's average health, it doesn't seem to cut down on the number of people visiting urgent and emergency care facilities.
As the Affordable Care Act begins to roll out, the 12% of uninsured patients will gain new access that they haven't had before. Below are additional statistics from HHS.gov further defining the uninsured populations in Rhode Island who will be eligible through the new healthcare marketplaces:
Urgent care facilities offer patients a great way to get the care they need, quickly and efficiently. These facilities are the perfect alternative to emergency rooms when an illness or injury is not life-threatening. In fact, these facilities help cut down the number of people waiting to be seen in the emergency rooms. Throughout the state there are about 3,500 physicians. These physicians staff a number of facilities from walk-in clinics to urgent care, and more.
The price charged at an urgent care, whether in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island urgent care center that offers advanced bookings (or appointments) and book online.
Solv allows Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island, '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.
Chickenpox Vaccine in Rhode Island
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Flu Shot in Rhode Island
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Measles Vaccine (MMR) in Rhode Island
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Shingles Vaccine in Rhode Island
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Tetanus Shot in Rhode Island
Typhoid Vaccine in Rhode Island
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Allergy Testing in Rhode Island
Basic Metabolic Panel in Rhode Island
Blood Test in Rhode Island
CMP Test in Rhode Island
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Cholesterol Test in Rhode Island
Diabetes Test in Rhode Island
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Hepatitis test in Rhode Island
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