Roles of Walk-In Clinics in Canada

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Roles Of Walk-in Clinic In Canada
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Introduction

• A walk-in clinic is a medical care provider that
  allows walk-in patients with no appointments.
  These clinics are usually situated in areas that
  you least expect, like malls.

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• Walk-in clinics are not designed to treat life
  threatening emergencies. It's very important to
  know the roles of different healthcare providers
  and have your options in mind before an emergency
  strikes in. Formally, walk-in clinics in Canada
  were designed for those people who had no
  insurance. They have now evolved to provide
  medical care to anyone who is in urgent need.

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Table of contents

• Roles of Walk-In Clinics in Canada
• Can You Substitute Your Doctor for a Walk-In
  Clinic?
• Advantages of Walk-In Clinics
• Disadvantages of Walk-In Clinics

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Roles of Walk-In Clinics in Canada

• Walk-in clinics are appropriate for treating
  health issues that are not life-threatening.
  These clinics also treat minor injuries like
• Minor broken bone
• Eye Injury
• Back pain
• Minor Burns
• Minor Cuts
• Sprain

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• Non-life-threatening ailments like
• Cold and flu
• Fever
• Rashes
• Unusual Headaches
• Sexual Transmitted Disease
• Vaccinations
• Insect bite

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Can You Substitute Your Doctor for a Walk-In
Clinic?

• Walk-in clinics can come to your rescue when you
  feel you need fast medical attention. However,
  this should not give you a reason to dump your
  family doctor. Walk-in clinics are only there to
  act as a substitute for your medical needs. Here
  are the reasons why you cannot replace your
  doctor with a walk-in clinic
• Your doctor has your history, but the clinic
  doctor doesn't. Walk-in clinics do not conduct
  comprehensive tests on you like your doctor would
  have done.
• These clinics are known for treating temporary
  ailments, so if you've had a health problem for a
  long time, then a walk-in clinic might not help
  you.

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• Walk-in clinics are known to render their
  services at a fast rate. However, this doesn't
  mean that these clinics can handle emergencies.
  If you have a history of seizure or heart attack,
  don't go to a walk-in clinic when you feel sick
  instead of rushing to the Emergency Room. Make it
  a habit of visiting your doctor routinely so that
  he can assess your body.

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Advantages of Walk-In Clinics

• Although they don't cater to other serious
  ailments, walk-in clinics are very helpful.
• Provide on Demand Health Care
• The fact that you do not need an appointment to
  receive treatment makes these clinics highly
  desirable. You do not need to wait for your
  doctor to schedule up an appointment with you.
  Just walk in and get treated.

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• Fast Service
• With walk-in clinics, waiting hours are shorter
  than in Emergency Rooms. These clinics have also
  reduced the number of patients who were going to
  the ER. This has helped to free up the ER space
  making it easier for those with life threatening
  ailments.

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• Cheaper Services
• Walk-in clinics seem to offer services at a
  fraction of ER treatment costs. It will cost you
  more to use the ER facility, which is only meant
  for those with life threatening conditions.
• Available
• The walk-in clinics are still being opened up in
  Canada. This ensures that fast medical care is
  available to everyone.

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• Flexible Hours
• Walk-in clinics work past beyond business hours,
  and they also open on weekends. This is an
  advantage to those people who work late or those
  who have a tight schedule.

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Disadvantages of Walk-In Clinics

• Walk-in clinics handle multiple cases in a day.
  Going to these clinics can waste a lot of time
  because you might find many people waiting to be
  treated.
• Walk-in clinics are only limited to handle small
  types of ailments. Walk-in clinics do not have
  continuity of medical care. Continued medical
  care is crucial because it allows the doctor to
  study your body and know it better.
• The payments in a walk-in clinic are not set up,
  so it's hard for you to know if your problem
  simple or complicated.

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• There are things that your doctor does that a
  walk-in doctor cant. These are
• Keeping records of your health issues, a family
  doctor ensures that he has every detail, whether
  you went to the ER or visited another doctor.
• Your doctor organizes preventive medical care
  like cancer screening and diabetes testing.
• Most doctors attend to their patients anywhere,
  be it at the hospital or home.
• The family doctor is usually available to give
  you answers over the phone concerning your
  health. In walk-in clinics, the doctors dont
  have the time to create that relationship with
  the patients.

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• NB Walk-in doctors and family doctors earn the
  same amount of money. Don't shy away from
  consulting a family doctor, thinking that the
  bills will be higher than when you go to walk-in
  clinics.
• Walk-in clinics were built to bridge family
  doctors and emergency rooms, which were already
  overcrowded. There are two kinds of walk-in
  clinics, and one works for extended hours while
  others work after business hours. The citizens of
  Canada have utilized the services of the walk-in
  clinics to a great extent.

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Contact details

• Bay College Medical Lockwood Diagnostic
• Address 790 Bay St 108, Toronto, Ontario, M5G
  1N8
• BCML Walk-in Clinic 416-929-1900
• Lockwood 416-921-2121  1-800-667-0923 
• Email info_at_lockwoodclinic.com
• Website - https//lockwoodclinic.com/walk-in-clini
  c/