Taking Care Post-Scare

If you've ever been in a motor vehicle accident, or an accident of any kind, the number one concern is your health and well being.  The most important thing to recover is your physical health - money to pay for treatment can come later.  Here is a breakdown of the different medical services you can take advantage of:

Hospital

A hospital will always remain the number one medical treatment clients receive immediately after the accident, but you should know the various services that most hospitals offer.

Ambulance 

Run by the county, an ambulance serves as an emergency response unit that arrives at the scene of the accident to whisk away injured parties to the main hospital for immediately medical treatment.  While it may be true that a trip in an ambulance can be expensive, the precious time saved by these Emergency responders can greatly improve treatment. 

Emergency Room

When you arrive at the hospital, you will generally go to an emergency room to receive treatment.  These specialized physicians are trained to give immediate medical attention and set the foundation for the recovery process.  They work to get patients stable enough to go back to their normal life.

General Physicians

Most people are familiar with general physicians of the hospital.  These are the physicians generally staffing the hospital that take care of patients day in and day out.  When a patient is not in an immediate medical emergency, he or she will be in the caring hands of general physicians.

Outside of the hospital, clients still have many other treatment options should their injuries require on-going attention.

Primary Care Physician

Perhaps you go to a doctor away from the busy hospital for your general needs.  Maybe you catch the flu and need some medicine for the cough.  Your primary care physicians is your right-hand man (or woman) in terms of medical treatment.  You are probably on a first-name basis with him after seeing the doctor for several years already.  

Should you have a general medical question or need basic medical advice, your primary care physician is probably your go-to person when the hospital is too busy or the wait-times too long.  He or she knows your medical history and is probably the second most familiar with your body's needs (right behind you!).  A primary care physician can specialize in diagnosing the lasting results or the accident and refer you to specialists for proper treatment.

Chiropractor

Chiropractors are generally visited when the client experiences back pain or muscle strain as a result of the accident.  They believe that the proper alignment of the spine will allow the body to heal naturally, without surgery or additional medication.  The primary concern of chiropractors is the patient's mobility and general pain relief.  The treatment is incredibly safe and very effective at treating multiple health problems from acute back and neck pain to muscle strain to even headaches. Chiropractors remove any trace of the accident by treating any lasting pains.

Physical Therapist

Physical therapists act in a very similar manner to chiropractors, but they deal more with the limbs than the spine.  Their primary concern is to restore your movement and reduce any residual pain after the accident.  Athletes often consult physical therapists after an accident to make sure that their body is ready to train again.  Just because you aren't an athlete, doesn't mean that you can't see a physical therapist.  These specialists are great for long-term and lasting conditions that a chiropractor isn't handled to deal with.  Temporary pains can be treated by a chiropractor, but injuries to legs and arms that just won't go away should be treated by a physical therapist or, should the need arise, a specialist.

If you take advantage of the multiple services, please be sure to inform any all physicians of your treatment.  Your recovery depends on the inter-cooperation of everyone involved.  Get yourself back in a healthy state while we deal with at-fault insurance companies.