Reprinted from the Health District's quarterly publication mailed to district residents (Fall 2003)
TOPIC: Don't wait till you're sick to look for a doctor
 
by chryss cada

Logan Moore never gets sick — except today.

“I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck,” said the 25-year-old Fort Collins resident as he heads into the waiting room at the Urgent Care Center on Harmony Road. “Usually I wouldn’t see a doctor, but with this West Nile stuff, I figured I better go get checked out.”

Moore is at Urgent Care instead of his regular doctor’s office because — like nearly one in four northern Larimer County residents — he doesn’t have a regular healthcare provider.

Many of those who forgo a regular doctor are young, healthy and, like Moore, “never get sick.”
A whopping 42 percent of those age 18-34 reported not having a regular healthcare provider in the Health District’s 2001 Community Health Survey, compared to only 14 percent of those 35-44 and 11 percent of those 45-64. Likewise, those who self-reported their health as excellent were significantly more likely to not have a regular provider. Low-income families and families without insurance also were significantly more likely not to have one.

“We seem to be moving away from the old model,” says Craig Luzinski, vice president of patient care services at Poudre Valley Hospital. “A lot of people come into the ER with minor injuries because they don’t have a primary-care physician.”
To respond to this trend, Luzinski pushed for creation of the Hospital’s Urgent Care Center at Harmony and Timberline roads. Since opening 18 months ago, the center has treated nearly 1,000 patients for minor illnesses and injuries such as colds, flu and sprains. Although the center is pleased with providing a service to those in need, Luzinski stresses that the Urgent Care Center is no replacement for a primary-care physician.

choosing a provider

For a list of local healthcare providers, visit www.healthinfosource.com or www.pvhs.org.

If you’re generally in good health, choose a family physician or internist. If you’re a senior citizen, you may want to look for someone who has special training or an interest in geriatrics.

Once you know the type of provider you need, ask friends, other doctors or nurses for referrals. To ensure your eligibility for maximum benefits, ask your health plan provider for a list of healthcare providers who accept your insurance.

Once you’ve selected the providers to consider, call or visit receptionists and ask about:
• Insurance plans accepted
• Office hours
• Professionals on-call when the
doctor is out
• Wait time to schedule a routine visit
• Time allowed for a routine visit
• Getting health information on the phone
• House-call policy if you’re too sick
to come in
• Responses to after-hours emergencies
• Who submits insurance forms
• Payment terms/finance charges
• Costs of procedures you need regularly
• Accessibility of your medical records
• Hospitals where your doctor has
admitting privileges
Source: www.pvhs.org

“An urgent care facility can take care of your immediate needs but can’t provide the continuity of care you get with a regular physician,” he says.

Mark Hoenig, one of the physicians at the Urgent Care Center, agrees.

“People come in with chronic problems and they have to tell their stories over and over again because they don’t have a regular doctor,” he says. “When you’re young and healthy, that continuity might not be important, but when you have a long health history, it’s so much better to have a doctor who knows you.”

There is a deep pool of primary-care physicians to choose from in Northern Colorado. Low-income families who have no health insurance or who are covered by Medicaid can find a primary care provider by calling Salud Family Health Centers at 494-4040 or the Family Medicine Center at 495-8800.

Hoenig doesn’t see the necessity of primary care going away.

“Long term in life, the most gratification comes from our human relationships,” he says. “Be it with our children, our wives or our family doctor.”