need a doctor?

Chances are you don’t like going to the doctor’s or dentist. But going to see a doctor is very important to staying healthy throughout your entire life. Seeing a doctor for regular checkups, visits when you or family members are not feeling well, and for vaccinations against childhood and adult illnesses are the first step to staying healthy. If you or family members are diagnosed with a specific condition or a disease that needs regular care, it is very important to have a regular Doctor or a Medical Home.

Medical homes are much more than just a place you go to get medical care. A medical home is where you and your family regularly go to be seen by a doctor for your health care needs. It’s the ongoing relationship you have with your doctor and the medical team so that they know you and how to best meet your needs. A medical home is focused on quality of care and patient safety.

A medical home can be …..
A doctor’s office…

A Community Health Center… Community Health Centers, especially Federally Qualified Community Health Centers (FQHC) are places where anyone can go to receive medical care even if they don’t have health insurance. FQHC’s have sliding-fee-scales for low-income individuals and families. FQHC’s adjust their fees for doctor’s and dentist visits and for prescription drugs to a price you can afford.

Click here to find a FQHC that nearest to you!

A medical home is not…
A Hospital Emergency Room...A hospital emergency room is set up to deal with emergency situations as they arise. They are not good places for you to go to for your everyday health concerns or to help you with chronic diseases unless it is an urgent situation that requires immediate attention by a doctor.

In Maryland we know that nearly 35% of all visits to the emergency room could have been treated at a doctor’s office or a community health center. Emergency medicine does not work like a medical home and it is very expensive!

Having a medical home can save you money and financial debt.
$865 Average cost of one visit to the emergency room.
$135 Average cost of one visit to a FQHC in Maryland or Delaware.
$730 The money wasted by visiting an emergency room!

Plus a FQHC has a sliding-fee-scale for families who are low-income. The sliding-fee-scale will discount the cost of services up to a minimum fee. Minimum fees vary by FQHC – be sure to call before hand to find out what your fee will likely be. Discounts are based upon guidelines that the Federal government develop each year called the Federal Poverty Level.

Sources

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Emergency Room Services-Mean and Median Expenses per Person With Expense and Distribution of Expenses by Source of Payment: United States, 2004. Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Component Data.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resource and Services Administration, Bureau of Primary Health Care, Uniform Data System, 2007 Maryland and Delaware data.