You may have heard a phrase thrown around called “antibiotic stewardship”, which means the responsible use of antibiotics. Antibiotics are such a strong tool against infection that they are prescribed quite often. If you’ve ever had strep throat, or a high fever, or any type of infection, your doctor probably prescribed you some. However, there is a risk of them being overused.
Although antibiotics destroy most disease-causing bacteria, unfortunately there might be a few survivors left over who continue to multiply and grow to produce an even worse disease. When this happens these new diseases are usually antibiotic resistant, which means they’re harder to treat, and take longer to go away. Plus, because the antibiotics are doing the job of your immune system, overuse may weaken your immune system as well, causing an even bigger problem if you get sick.
That’s why Freedom Urgent Care practices Antibiotic Stewardship. This means that we follow strict guidelines on when we prescribe antibiotics rather than using them widely and often. It also prevents people from becoming more ill in the future due to bacteria building resistance to medicine. This also reduces costs for patients and encourages the use of treatments that are equally effective without needing antibiotics.
In fact, Freedom Urgent Care is accredited by the Urgent Care Association for Antibiotic Stewardship, a prestigious award which designates us as one of the few groups nationally who has met their standards and followed approved procedures set into place.
Freedom Urgent Care is committed to treating our patients with the best standard of healthcare. In addition to treating mild illnesses, we also treat sprains and strains, bumps and bruises, as well as cuts and lacerations. We also see patients as young as three months. You can walk in and see us at any time, or you can check-in online and save your spot in line. To learn more about Freedom Urgent Care, visit our website.