I love urgent care facilities. For me.  That’s because it’s cheaper than a regular doctor or the ER and of course quicker too.  So if my kid is sick, but not too sick, it’s a great option.

For anyone injured at work in Illinois, these “minute clinics” are a terrible idea.  I had one reader tell me that she had been off work for two weeks with a back injury and was set to see her own doctor in three more days.  The company was pressuring her to go to one of these facilities and get released to work.  She did that against her better judgment, got released back to work and now is in worse pain than ever.

It’s not that these are bad doctors, it’s that often they aren’t doctors at all and no matter who they are, they aren’t specialists.  If you have a back injury you need to be with an orthopedic doctor.  If that keeps you off work for a few extra days or costs a little more that’s just too bad.  This is about you and what is best for your long term health.  My reader had complaints of shooting pains down her legs.  No experienced doctor would have told her to go back to work.

Now she’s worse off and possibly aggravated the problem to the point where she needs surgery when a little more rest and physical therapy could have solved her problem.

100% of your medical bills are covered when you are hurt at work.  No co-pays. No out of pocket expenses.  ZERO.  So while we don’t encourage people to get treatment they don’t need, we also want you to get the best care you can.  That means you choose the doctor you treat with. Simply put, the insurance company shouldn’t have a say.

And whatever you do, don’t go back to work before you are ready.  21 years of experience has shown me that when people do that, they usually make their injury much worse.

Bottom line is that you need to look out for you.  Urgent care centers are great for the flu shot, sore throats and tick bites.  I wouldn’t go there with a back injury or if I hurt my arm or knee.  They would probably tell you that they aren’t the best place for you either.

As always, please get in touch if you have any questions or have a free consultation.