Taking good care of your heart is an essential part of living a long, healthy life, but it isn’t always clear which way is best to go about it.
Medical care of any kind can be fairly expensive in the United States. One trip to the hospital can easily rack up thousands of dollars in medical bills, and in an emergency situation like a heart attack, you’re almost guaranteed a hefty medical bill.
When it comes to your heart health, though, you have more options at your disposal than just a trip to the hospital. Heart clinics like Champion Heart & Vascular Center offer cardiological care at a fraction of the cost you’ll incur at a hospital.
That being said, a clinic isn’t always the appropriate option over a hospital, and it’s essential for you to know when to choose either option.
In this post, we’ll cover the merits of each type of North Carolina heart & vascular center, whether it’s a clinic or a hospital. You’ll learn more about which type of facility to choose for the kind of care you need, the costs associated with either option, and how to choose the right facility for you.
The basic difference between the care you’ll get at a clinic as opposed to a hospital is that it’s largely preventative in nature. This means routine check-ups, surgeries, and other treatments aimed at preventing worse situations further down the road.
A hospital, on the other hand, is generally where you’ll need to go in an emergency situation like sudden cardiac arrest. They’ll be better staffed and equipped to deal with a rapidly-evolving situation where your life is on the line.
When discussing any kind of medical care, it’s extremely important to keep in mind the costs associated with the treatment you’ll need.
A hospital visit will almost always be a more expensive prospect than a trip to a clinic. There are a lot of reasons for this, but one of the biggest ones is the scale of the work that will typically need to be done in an emergency situation, both as it unfolds and afterward.
The difference between care at a clinic and care at a hospital is that of outpatient vs. inpatient care, respectively.
Treatment at a hospital is likely to involve a longer-term stay and continual treatment by a larger team of medical professionals. Clinics generally offer same-day treatments, even in the case of surgeries.
We’ve written more about the financial aspect of the clinic vs. hospital discussion in another blog post, which you can read here.
Once you’ve weighed your options and determined whether it makes more sense to visit a clinic or a hospital, it’s time to find out which particular facility may be the right one for you.
If you’ve decided that your situation warrants a hospital visit, you may find this article by The New York Times to be a helpful resource for finding the best one for you. It covers resources like Medicare’s Hospital Compare site, which allows you to view useful data from hospitals in your area, and outlines the exact statistical benefits you may see from your choice of hospital.
If a clinic seems like the way to go, you’ll find a lot of useful information from this Everyday Health article about choosing the right cardiologist. It includes tips like checking the cardiologist’s credentials, checking for disciplinary actions or conflicts of interest, and making sure any online reviews you’re taking into consideration are actually concerned with the doctor’s care and not other factors like wait times.
We’re here to handle your heart health needs with expert care, state-of-the-art equipment, and a team dedicated to giving you the best clinical care experience possible. Schedule an appointment with us now or contact us with any questions.
