Last year’s influenza outbreak was one of the worst in nearly a decade and the severity of the outbreak was extreme. In fact, the The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded over 20,000 positive flu tests per week at the height of the outbreak.
The flu can be transmitted by contact and airborne measures and is especially dangerous for young children, seniors and those with other chronic illnesses.
Every year, somewhere between five and twenty percent of the population contract the flu.
A person that has caught the virus can infect others up to six feet away. Even scarier, adults can infect other people one day before their flu symptoms even develop and they realize they’re sick.
If you do have symptoms of the flu, it is important to be tested and start treatment immediately. The medications to help alleviate the symptoms of the flu are best when started within 48 hours of the onset of your symptoms. Delays in diagnosis and treatment may result in prolonging the symptoms and complications of the flu.
And while most seek treatment at an emergency room (ER) or urgent care clinic, by leaving their home and exposing the virus to others, they’re only causing further spread of the flu. Plus, ERs and clinics can easily become overwhelmed with a high number of sick patients during flu season, leading to overcrowding, lengthy wait times and even physician burnout.
So if you’re sick and need medical treatment, but don’t want to leave home, what can you do?
The simple solution is to get your healthcare delivered. Simply put, DispatchHealth travels so the flu doesn’t.
With a quick call, DispatchHealth’s board-certified medical team – also referred to as this season’s “Traveling Flu Crew” – will bring high-quality urgent care to your home so you can fight the flu without leaving the couch. They will arrive ready to perform a rapid infectious disease test, administer IV fluids, prescribe anti-nausea medication, prescribe antivirals if caught early enough, order a chest xray if pneumonia is suspected, and more. And unlike a crowded clinic, the DispatchHealth Traveling Flu Crew spends as much time as needed with each patient to thoroughly understand each person’s unique case and determine the most effective treatment plan.
In addition to the flu, DispatchHealth’s medical teams can treat common to complex injuries and illnesses, including urinary tract infections, migraines, respiratory infections, sprains and fractures, the common cold, joint or back pain, and much more.
Each medical team consists of either a physician assistant or nurse practitioner, along with a medical technician and also an on-call (board-certified, locally licensed) physician. To ensure continuity of care, a detailed report is provided to each patient’s living facility, home health agency and/or primary care physician.
Sounds expensive, right? Actually,
DispatchHealth is partnered with most major insurance companies, including Medicare and Medicaid, and handles billing directly with those companies.
In fact, a visit with DispatchHealth typically costs 80-90 percent less than the average emergency room visit. And if patients are uninsured, DispatchHealth accepts a flat fee of $375, which includes any medications administered and lab tests during the visit, as well as procedures performed.
Staying home when you’re sick should be the standard of care. So the next time you’re in need of immediate medical care, stay cozy on the couch, give DispatchHealth a call and let a qualified team bring convenient, comfortable healthcare to you.
