Getting the medical care everyone in the family needs at one place can be highly convenient. Plus, when everyone goes to the same place, it is easier to share medical histories and for doctors to track your health needs over a long period of time.
Family medical clinics offer “one-stop” care for everyone in your family. These clinics are staffed with medical professionals specializing in many areas of routine care for people of all ages.
Doctors at family medical clinics offer a variety of areas of treatment, including prenatal care and pediatrics, internal medicine and urgent care. Some offer an even wider scope, including chiropractic care and behavioral care.
The chief benefit of a family medical clinic is that they allow you to develop relationships with all the doctors treating your family in one place. Here are some things to consider when choosing a clinic.
Your family’s needs
First, it’s important to evaluate your family’s needs to make sure they’re a good fit for the clinic.
“If members of your family have any serious or unusual health conditions, finding a doctor with experience treating those issues should be at the top of your list,” says Dr. Stephen Pallone, family medicine provider at UnityPoint Clinic. “It may require a specialist for ongoing treatments, or perhaps a family practice doctor can handle it with less expense and hassle.”
The same thing applies for anyone very old or young in your family. The clinic’s scope of practice and definition of “family” may not include tiny infants or the elderly, so find out whether the clinic’s strengths line up with your family’s makeup.
Preventative care
When you’re looking for a clinic to handle healthcare over the course of a lifetime — not just for an emergency or urgent need — it’s especially critical to find a clinic that does a good job preventing medical problems down the road.
“Preventative medical care is one of the most cost-effective ways to help improve your family’s health over the long term,” says Dr. Pallone. “If you can make changes to your diet or physical activity, or catch small medical problems before they develop into big ones, you can potentially live a longer, healthier life.”
Find out what ways the clinic can help your family not only take care of urgent, infrequent needs, but also help you eliminate or mitigate health risks before they become a serious problem.
Schedule
Modern families often have busy lives. Between school, sports and extracurricular activities, parents, children and grandparents can have very packed schedules.
That’s why an important consideration is how well the medical clinic can work into your existing schedule.
Some clinics offer extended hours that make it easier for children to get their medical appointments booked without missing too many hours of schooling. Some offer limited weekend hours, too.
Some clinics make it possible to book same-day appointments, while others may not have openings for weeks. It’s important to know their availability for same-day or next-day appointments before the need arises.
Interaction
The best family medical clinics make it easy to interact with them at every level.
A very professional staff, of course, is key to this. The physicians, medical professionals and office staff should all have good listening and communication skills. The office itself should seem organized, clean and managed well.
Increasingly, though, the way you interact with the clinic’s technology can play a role in your healthcare. Look for a clinic that offers easy-to-use technology if you prefer to book appointments, have virtual doctor visits or see your medical records and test results electronically.
Location
Depending on your family’s needs, doctor visits may be a frequent part of your life. The more often you’re going to be needing medical appointments in your family, the more important it is to find a clinic with a convenient, nearby location.
If you can find a clinic that offers outstanding care within easy driving distance of your home or office, the convenience will mean less of an interruption to your life for routine medical needs. Just like when buying real estate, location matters.
Insurance
Finally, one of the most important considerations is whether the clinic accepts your insurance coverage.
Check with your insurance company to see if the clinic is on their list of in-network providers. Choosing a clinic that’s not in your insurance plan’s contracted network can make visits much more expensive, so it’s good to know what your out-of-pocket costs will be up front.
With some careful shopping and a few questions, you can find a quality family medical clinic that provides outstanding care in a way that fits your family’s unique needs.
To find a location nearest you, click here.
