With NYU Langone Virtual Urgent Care, you don’t need to leave your ocean view to get medical treatment.
Picture this: You’re sitting on the beach, fresh cocktail and summer book in hand, and your child runs up to show you a rash they got from playing outside. Without any medical background, you probably don’t know what it is or how to treat it. Wouldn’t it be great to get care for your child without leaving the beach to sit in a chain clinic’s waiting room?
In these kinds of situations, NYU Langone Virtual Urgent Care (VUC) is a necessary luxury. Created in 2017 before the surge of telehealth we’re seeing now, NYU Langone VUC provides the same standard of high-quality care as their in-person physician visits and is available to both current and new NYU Langone patients. NYU Langone VUC can remotely treat concerns such as upper respiratory infections, rashes, bug bites, asthma, headaches and pretty much any other minor medical issue you would go to an urgent care for. NYU Langone VUC has an over 90 percent patient satisfaction rate.
Since the majority of urgent care issues can be treated remotely, NYU Langone VUC is a great option for minor illnesses or incidents.
“We wanted to provide a mechanism to treat the patients who don't want to or don't need to leave their home because about 70 percent of urgent care can be handled without actually coming into a physical office,” says Andrew Rubin, senior vice president for clinical affairs and ambulatory care at NYU Langone Health.
Plus, NYU Langone has locations in Bridgehampton, Riverhead and other parts of the East End, so when patients have an issue that can’t be treated remotely, such as a cut that needs stitches, they can receive in-person care locally.
Quality Care on The East End
This service is especially helpful in the Hamptons and Montauk, where there is a lack of urgent care centers connected to a larger, high-quality health system. According to the medical director of Virtual Urgent Care and system chief of Emergency Medicine Telehealth at NYU Langone, Victoria Leybov, MD, “A common issue with pop-up shops is that patients don’t know the provider’s level of training or experience or the quality of care they’re going to get.”
Dr. Victoria Leybov is the medical director of Virtual Urgent Care and system chief of Emergency Medicine Telehealth at NYU Langone.
“As an Emergency Medicine physician, I see some patients being referred to the Emergency Department from outside urgent cares when they really did not need to be referred,” Dr. Leybov says. “It’s a very big time and cost expense for the patient to have to incur an unnecessary ED visit.”
The only thing worse than having a medical concern while summering in the Hamptons away from your doctor is having to navigate and coordinate treatment. With NYU Langone VUC, this process is done for you. All of the providers are board certified, and because they are part of the NYU Langone system, they can order medications and tests, and refer patients to specialists, all while keeping the patient’s medical information in one network-wide electronic health record (EHR).
“By keeping patients within our clinical system, we can better manage their care pre-, during and post-any episode that they have,” Rubin says. “The bulk of our urgent care patients are already in our network, so the doctor has access to all of their clinical information in our EHR for that urgent care visit. When the patient gets their urgent care issue resolved, their primary care physician also can see what happened, and we believe that’s a better clinical outcome and response.”
Essentially, NYU Langone VUC allows patients in the Hamptons or Montauk to receive the same high-quality care that they would if they were going to their primary care doctor’s office. Patients also receive a post-visit summary, care instructions to treat their condition, and a message allowing them to follow up with the VUC provider about any questions or concerns they may have after their VUC visit. In addition, patients also receive a satisfaction survey which allows NYU Langone VUC to keep its patients not only healthy, but also happy.
The NYU Langone Health app makes scheduling VUC appointments and communicating with physicians quick and easy.
Common Summer Scares
While summer in the Hamptons is blissful and beautiful, there are a handful of medical issues that NYU Langone VUC tends to see frequently in these hot months. Dr. Leybov points out that many patients suffer from dehydration and fatigue, particularly when temperatures and humidity are high.
“We see a lot of heat-related illnesses,” she says. “My number one tip is to make sure you're staying well-hydrated. I know everyone loves iced coffees and cocktails in the summer, but a lot of those beverages are diuretics, meaning they make you go to the bathroom and dehydrate you. So for every non-water beverage you're having, you should match it with a glass of water to keep yourself in check. Also, wearing sunscreen or a long-sleeved linen shirt is great to prevent sunburn.”
Along with sun and heat-related complaints, VUC also sees an uptick in sports-related injuries. From kids roughhousing in the sand to parents running after them, twisted and sprained ankles can be an unwelcomed outcome of fun. Luckily, NYU Langone VUC providers are trained to perform a telemedicine physical exam, so they can look at your ankle and tell you whether you need to come in for an x-ray or if you just need to ice it—without having to wobble your way to the nearest clinic.
“If you're home, you can see us remotely; if you're at the beach, you can see us; if you're waiting for a table somewhere, you can see us,” Dr. Leybov says. “And we're open until midnight every day of the week. So if it's 9 pm and you have a headache, you can make an appointment with us, and you'll be seen that evening.”
Summer passes us by too quickly already, but you don’t have to let a pesky rash or infection take you away from your good times. With NYU Langone VUC, you can make a same-day appointment using your mobile device or computer and have peace of mind in no time.
Access NYU Langone Virtual Urgent Care here: https://nyulangone.org/locations/virtual-urgent-care.
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