INDIANAPOLIS — Primary doctors versus urgent care? You probably know someone who is sick right now and the chances are the urgent care nearest to you could be seeing long wait times.
“Simplest answer to that is convenience and you can get into an urgent care without an appointment,” Nurse Practitioner Schani Manungo said.
Manungo says she runs Ideal Health Clinic in Indianapolis.
“I started off in primary care and then I went to retail health. I fell in love with urgent care… I’ve been doing it since 2015,” Manungo said.
WRTV worked to find out why so many people are turning to urgent care facilities and maybe passing on seeing their primary care doctor.
“There has been a deficiency in the number of primary care applicants coming out of the various med schools that we draw from in the region,” Dr. Chad Perkins with Ascension St. Vincent said.
Dr. Perkins says one reason you see long wait times is because it's hard to hire primary care physicians post-pandemic.
“In terms of a primary care visit versus an urgent care, it's actually not cheaper to go to the urgent care, you’re probably getting better value for your dollar if you are able to get in,” Dr. Perkins added.
Dr. Perkins says as Indiana sees more seasonal viruses, wait times could increase. He says that's another reason to take care of yourself.
“Many of the illnesses that are out there don’t necessarily require treatment, it's more just hydration, resting and taking care of yourself,” Dr. Perkins said.
The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortage of 20,200 to 40,400 primary care doctors by 2036 nationwide.
