If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the power of virtual connectivity. Think about Zoom for work and Facetime for checking in with our families during the lockdown. The same technical innovation creates a wealth of options for busy parents during their kids’ early years when it seems like they’re always sick! It’s needed now more than ever. Take a look at this sampling of wait times in the Twin Cities as reported by HospitalStats.org
Facility Wait Time:
- Hennepin County Medical Center 1h 16 m
- North Memorial Medical Center 1h 49 m
- Abbott Northwestern Hospital 2h 15m
- Fairview Southdale Hospital 2h 28m
- Maple Grove Hospital 2h 32m
- Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital 2h 33m
- University of MN Medical Center, Fairview 2h 42m
- Children’s Hospital and Clinics of MN NA
And, if the wait time isn’t enough, consider the fact that you are spending all this time in a room with other patients who are sick. It’s enough time to be exposed to a whole host of viruses and illnesses.
This is where the efficiency of online care can make a difference. Today many healthcare providers offer ways to diagnose and treat your sickness right from home. Virtual sessions allow you to get the care you might have otherwise waited hours for.
But how does this work for instances when you need a test, like strep and covid?
It’s pretty simple, actually. For example, at The Urgency Room in the Twin Cities, you log into their telehealth portal and complete an online questionnaire with symptoms or concerns. If it’s a strep test you need, you then walk into the closest Urgency Room location (ahead of everyone in the waiting room) to the check-in desk, where you are given a swab test, instructions on how to perform it and directed to a room or restroom where you can complete the test. You leave the sample with the care team, walk out, and they let you know as soon as your results are available. If prescriptions are warranted based on your results, those are sent to your pharmacy of preference.
The efficiency is incredible. Unfortunately, too many people don’t realize these online options are at their fingertips for a variety of conditions, including”
- Cough
- Congestion
- Eye Irritation or Infection
- COVID
- Strep
- Urinary Tract Infections
- Skin Rashes
- And many other conditions and illnesses
It’s worth taking the time to research your provider’s online options as we head into the winter months when sickness is (unfortunately) inevitable.
Another way to stay in from the cold this winter!
Dr. Matticks is the Medical Director of The Urgency Room, which has three Twin Cities locations in Eagan, Woodbury, and Vadnais Heights. Learn more at: www.urgencyroom.com.
