A medical facility is where you go when you are not feeling well and you need to get treated by doctors. A medical facility is actually a broad term because it includes private clinics, dispensaries and big hospitals. However, most people rush to the nearest medical facility when their health deteriorates just because they are desperate for treatment. Your health is a very delicate issue and you should therefore compromise on the quality of care that you get. If you are not careful, you will end up in a facility that doesn’t offer the services that you need. And that’s not all. If the facility is not near where you live, the situation could get out of hand before reaching the emergency room. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Continue reading below to learn more on the criteria that you should use when selecting a healthcare facility.
1. Location
Location plays a very important role in determining how soon you will be seen by a doctor or nurse. Selecting a facility that’s too far from your area is actually a huge mistake. This is because you will definitely spend many hours on the road. Some people don’t mind going for tens of miles just to reach a facility that they feel serves them right. That can only make sense when you are suffering from a chronic disease. If the condition you have is life threatening, you have to go to the nearest medical facility. For instance, you have been bitten by a snake, you are likely to die if you are not injected with anti-venom in the next 20 minutes. Besides that, if you have to visit the facility every week or several days in a week, a facility that’s near your home is highly recommended as you will spend less in terms of transport. For more details, you should check the facility’s site map that’s normally available on their website.
2. Services Available
Medical services vary from one facility to another. Some are only capable to handle outpatients only due to limited resources while other handle both cases. Besides that, you have to breakdown the services that you need. Do you need prenatal care, pediatric care, dental care or eye care? The worst mistake you can make is to visit a gyno’s clinic when all you need is dental care. Moreover, you have to consider when the services are available. Lest you forget, there are some facilities that don’t operate on public holidays and past normal working hours.
3. Affordability of the Services
Even if you are covered by insurance, you might have to cater for the expenses with your own money after exhausting what’s provided by your health insurance company. You should therefore consider the rates that are charged by the facility that you want to go to. Some facilities charge a premium rate because they mainly deal with individuals of high net worth such as celebrities and corporate clients. If money is a problem, you should go to a facility that serves low income earners such as those that are located in the suburbs.
4. Reputation
Since health is a sensitive matter, you want to be sure that you are attended by professionals that know your condition like the back of their hand. You should therefore give priority to a facility that has a reputation of handling patients with dignity. You can visit their social media page to see if there are any concerns that are yet to be addressed by the facility. Other issues to factor to include security, cleanliness and doctors’ responsiveness.