Sick kids: Can parents get same-day doctor appointments?

Implications

Almost all parents have been in the position of needing to contact a provider to get help for a sick child.  Getting timely medical advice or seeing a provider when their child is sick can be a frustrating experience for some parents. Most parents in this Mott Poll would want their child with a fever and sore throat to have an appointment to see their child’s provider. However, only around half were very confident in their ability to actually get a same-day appointment. Offices usually have only a limited number of “sick visits” available each day and these can fill up quickly, especially in winter months.  Often parents may be able to get an appointment, just not with their child’s usual provider. However, in some practices, parents who are not able to call first thing in the morning or have a child who gets sick later in the day may be out of luck. 

In many child health practices, other options are available to parents. More parents were confident in their ability to get same-day phone advice from their provider’s office—for many minor illnesses, nurse advice over the phone can be a timely and efficient way to get medical help and to decide if an appointment is needed. Some larger practices have nurses who spend most of their day answering calls from parents for phone advice. This can be frustrating for those parents who only want to speak with a doctor, but many parents find nurse advice helpful. Plus, when necessary, the nurse can also consult with the doctor or other providers in the practice. Parents may also be able to get phone advice in the evenings or weekends when the practice is closed.

Some practices offer advice through email or a patient portal, an online way to contact the practice.  Although only a small proportion of parents in this Mott Poll would try this route to get help, it may increase in the coming years. Email and patient portals are most commonly used for medication refills and other requests that are not urgent. Parents usually want, and need, more timely advice for a sick child than is commonly available through email. Many practices will give notice to parents that email may not be answered more than once a day and should not be used for urgent advice. For email and patient portals to become more useful to parents in these situations, practices would need medical staff in place to quickly respond to parent questions.

Many parents reported they would take their child with a fever and sore throat to an urgent care center, retail clinic in a pharmacy or an emergency department. When appointments at their child’s provider are not available, and parents want a child to be seen by a medical professional, many areas of the country have increasing options like these available to families. Most offer walk-in appointments and may be convenient for some families; however, parents should realize that the provider will not know their child’s medical history and should also check to see if the services are covered by their insurance. If parents choose any of these options, they should make sure that the clinic provides information about the visit to their child’s regular provider so the medical record of the child is kept up to date.

When parents are picking a provider or practice for their child, they should discuss what to do when their child is sick and what type of arrangements are made for urgent visits or advice. Providers have different systems in place to address parent concerns when their child is ill, and parents should try to find a practice that best matches their expectations.