{"id":9522,"date":"2018-08-08T10:04:43","date_gmt":"2018-08-08T14:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/fammed\/?p=9522"},"modified":"2018-08-08T10:09:52","modified_gmt":"2018-08-08T14:09:52","slug":"august-2018-patient-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/fammed\/2018\/08\/08\/august-2018-patient-newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"August 2018 Patient Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0Let\u2019s Talk Health with Dr. Neutze<\/h2>\n

At Family Medicine, we want to offer the best, most efficient care, whether it is during the day, in the evenings or on the weekend.<\/p>\n

Why should you have a primary care doctor?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

A primary care provider (PCP) will see you for chronic conditions, acute health care needs and preventive care.\u00a0 When you develop a continuity relationship with a PCP, they can help keep you healthy, long-term, through team-based, holistic care.<\/p>\n

However, urgent medical care issues and emergencies are a fact of life. When something is wrong with your health, it can be difficult to decide what services to use. Unfortunately, in our health care system today, emergency rooms are overrun with issues that could be better managed by your primary provider or their team.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the difference between the Emergency Room and Urgent Care?\"\"<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Emergency rooms (ER) are for, well, emergencies! The ER offers rapid care for patients experiencing life-threatening and\/or severe complications. People think that ERs are faster, but often patients have long waits if their condition is less serious.\u00a0 Urgent care is available for patients experiencing pressing, but non-severe problems. See the infographic below for examples of when go to the ER and when it would be best to go to your PCP or to urgent care.<\/p>\n

Where can I go for urgent care? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The UNC Family Medicine Center has always worked to have same day appointments for urgent needs. We have now expanded our availability to evenings and weekends for even more access. We offer urgent care on weekdays 7AM \u2013 9PM (closed 12PM \u2013 1PM for lunch), and on weekends from 12PM \u2013 5PM.<\/p>\n

These expanded hours are for when something comes up that cannot wait for an appointment with your regular primary care provider.<\/p>\n

What are the advantages of using the Family Medicine Center for urgent needs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The providers you will see are the same ones that work in the clinic. You might even run into your PCP! These providers will take a holistic-approach to your care, and make sure that you are scheduled to follow up on your health issues.<\/p>\n

And of course, the cost of a visit to an urgent care is much less than to an ER. In fact, for most established UNC Family Medicine patients, the co-pay for Urgent Care is the same as your primary care co-pay, not the usual Urgent Care deposit.<\/p>\n

That said, our Urgent Care is not just for Family Medicine patients\u2014we welcome everyone!<\/p>\n

Meet our Care Managers<\/h2>\n

Meet our care managers, Amy and Rayhaan! For those who don\u2019t know, a care manager helps patients manage barriers to care and access resources to address a patient\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n

Care managers also:<\/p>\n