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Whoa! Orthopedic Urgent…
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Whoa! Orthopedic Urgent Care?

March 28, 2018
photo of a cowboy.

Question:

Now, hold on! I’ve heard of urgent care because they are on every corner. I’ve been to the ER plenty. But orthopedic urgent care? If I fall off my horse or roll an all-terrain vehicle, I can urgently go to an orthopedic specialist who can fix my broken, sprained or strained whatever?  

 

Answer:

The short answer to the question is yes! You can go directly to an orthopedic urgent care. However, let’s explore this further: You could also go to one of the urgent cares. They are not an emergency care facility, but they are available when your primary care physician is closed. However, typically, just like your family physician, they do not have an orthopedic specialist on staff and will refer you to an orthopedic surgeon, which may take weeks.   Broken bones don’t wait for an appointment. They begin healing. If the bones are broken and displaced, not in alignment, and they heal misaligned, the fractured bones may have to be re-broken and surgically realigned with a plate and screws. If sprains and strains are not diagnosed accurately and treated properly, the injuries can worsen and become chronic problems. You could go to the ER. Almost 150 million Americans went to the ER in one year and 40 million of those visits were injury-related. Some of the 40 million injuries are from ranch and farm accidents! Six million visits were sprains and strains. Your ER visits are somewhere in those statistics. The New England Health Institute said that 56% of ER visits were “totally avoidable.”  

 

It is estimated that more than $18 billion could be saved if patients did not rely on ERs for their medical needs.

 

If your injury is musculoskeletal, you need orthopedic urgent care. This new concept was created by orthopedic surgeons. Dr. David Hassinger, founder of Direct Orthopedic Care (DOC), realized that patients who needed orthopedic specialists were going to the ER. They were spending unnecessary time and money. Dr. Hassinger created Direct Orthopedic Care to provide immediate urgent care for people like you. DOC can fix broken, strained or sprained musculoskeletal injuries without time lost waiting for an appointment with an orthopedic specialist or the cost of the ER. DOC has orthopedic surgeons and orthopedic-specialty trained physician assistants on staff. If your injury is more severe and requires surgery, DOC can handle it. Oh, by the way, a study of dangerous American workplaces ranked ranching and farming in the top 10!

For more information on the cost of care, click here.

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