Painless Broken Bone Workup?
May 18, 2013 7:45 AM   Subscribe

Think I may have broken a bone in my foot- how do I get checked out without spending the whole damn day in the ER?

I think I may have fractured a bone in my foot yesterday. Whats the best way to get this checked out without sitting in the ER all day? Can I schedule a ct myself, or do i need to make an appointmebt with an orthopedist or something? I've got good insurance but no pcp at the moment. If anyone has medical training and/or personal experience I'm all ears. Smashed outer part of right foot pretty hard in a weird exercise accident. Immediate pain 7/10. Currently have mild to moderate swelling in the area, no pain without pressure, but 5/10 pain if I try to put any weight on it.
posted by jimmysmits to Health & Fitness (11 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Where are you located? If you are in the US, you have a couple of typical options beyond the ER. These are what I've tried in the past for a sprained ankle:

(1) Urgent Care Clinics - these are typically covered by insurance at a slightly higher rate than PCPs. There is a wait but they don't triage patients and don't take anyone with life-threatening conditions, so the wait is much shorter.

(2) Your insurance company probably has a web portal that lists covered doctors. Just look for ones near you and start calling around to see if anyone has emergency-type availability.

I don't know why you would go straight to an orthopedist or get a CT scan without getting a regular X-ray first.
posted by muddgirl at 7:52 AM on May 18, 2013 [2 favorites]


Seconding urgent care. Some have systems where you can track your position in line and only leave the house when it's your turn. Easier than finding a PCP too.
posted by artifarce at 7:56 AM on May 18, 2013 [1 favorite]


You can see a podiatrist. Many of them have the ability to take X-rays in their office (like dentists). Find someone in-network for your insurance and it shouldn't be too expensive, and most importantly you can make an appointment and not waste the entire day. Assuming you're in the US, get on the phone now -- many podiatrists have Saturday hours but only in the morning/early afternoon.
posted by telegraph at 8:01 AM on May 18, 2013 [2 favorites]


You could also try a local orthopedist or bigger sports injury treatment center. I went straight to a combined practice when I had broken foot bones.
posted by jetlagaddict at 8:16 AM on May 18, 2013 [1 favorite]


Stuff like this is pretty much why Urgent Care facilities exist. I smashed my hand about three weeks ago, I was in and out of urgent care in under an hour with x-rays, a prescription, a brace, and a referral to an ortho.
posted by magnetsphere at 8:41 AM on May 18, 2013


You could also try a local orthopedist or bigger sports injury treatment center.

This. ER and Urgent Care places are going to have long waits and as someone who's not screaming in pain, you're going to be low priority. Make some calls to orthopedists in your area and see who can take you for an asap appointment. Make sure they have imaging machines onsite.

I've broken my foot before and sprained my ankle enough to make me want to go get an x-ray to check it out, and I haven't gone to the ER for either of them.

Good luck!
posted by phunniemee at 9:01 AM on May 18, 2013


Many insurance companies have an RN available to chat over the phone; they can give you advice as to how to proceed within the limits of your particular plan. It's worth a phone call.
posted by jenkinsEar at 9:28 AM on May 18, 2013


Call the EDs and ask them if they have a "Fast Track" and if its open today. Many do, open during certain hours, designed for minor illness and trauma like this, and have pretty short (usually 60-90 min) goals for elapsed time from arrival to discharge.
posted by sanderman at 11:54 AM on May 18, 2013


Have you tried calling your regular doctor? X-rays are used for non-emergencies also. You could make an appointment with your regular doctor and s/he could write a requisition for an x-ray for which you could also make an appointment. However you'd want confirmation from them that this is actually a non-emergency so you should probably have the doctor's appointment today -- or have confirmation (from the insurance RN phone line, for example) that the doctor visit can wait.
posted by winston at 11:56 AM on May 18, 2013 [2 favorites]


When I was in high school I chipped a bone in my little toe due to some stupidity at about 9 pm. my parents waited until the morning to make an appointment with our regular doctor (because, hey it might not be broken). By the morning It was obvious from the pain and swelling that it was broken, but I still got a x-ray to confirm.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 1:00 PM on May 18, 2013


IANYD. Patients cannot schedule radiology studies themselves, because they would not know what to order (that's why they pay us the big bucks) :-) . CT scans are not necessary for most broken bones unless they are complicated in some way.

I think urgent care would be fine for this purpose, because you don't know what the extent of the injury is. Sprains can hurt as much or more than broken bones and do not require an orthopedist's care. That's why the urgent care seems to be a logical choice to get your workup started, and if you need a referral to ortho, they can provide it.

If you don't have access to a nearby urgent care, my recommendation would be to go to the ER between the hours of 5 and 7am - it's the least busy time of day and you may not have to wait. Many EDs nowadays also have wait times available online - you could check the websites of the hospitals nearby and see if that information is available to help you decide.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 2:38 PM on May 18, 2013 [1 favorite]


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