1) What hours is the office open?

2) How do I get to the Michigan Avenue Immediate Care facility?

Our office is located at 104 S. Michigan Avenue at the corner of Monroe and Michigan, directly across from the Art Institute of Chicago.  We are on the 9th floor, Suite 905.  Please refer to the map available on this website for orientation, the closest CTA EL train routes and parking facilities. Unfortunately, we do not validate parking.  Feel free to call our office if you need additional guidance or directions.
 

3) Do I need to call to set up an appointment?

As long as you know our hours of operation, there is no need to call us first. The majority of our patients are “walk-ins”.  No appointment is necessary. This is the nature of an immediate care practice.   If we are your occupational health provider, you may prefer to schedule an appointment with your employees’ work schedules in mind.

4) What is "immediate care"?

Immediate care is defined as medical care that accommodates patients who “need to see a doctor now” but who do not have a life-threatening condition warranting an emergency room visit. No appointment is necessary and walk-ins are expected and welcome because these non-emergency conditions are unpredictable yet medical attention is necessary.  Patients must be aware that an immediate care center is not appropriate for very serious or life-threatening conditions.

5) How is Michigan Avenue Immediate Care different from other immediate care clinics?

6) Where should I go, emergency room or immediate care clinic?

True emergencies, such as serious cardiac and respiratory conditions, are best evaluated and treated in a hospital emergency room. Examples include chest pain (which could be cardiac), severe respiratory distress, severe hemorrhage or other life-threatening alteration in heart rate or blood pressure. If in doubt about the seriousness of your condition, error on the side of safety and call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency room.
In addition, after we evaluate and assess your physical complaints and condition, if appropriate (i.e. we identify a condition which is best treated in an emergency room), we will arrange for immediate transfer to Northwestern Memorial Hospital (the closest emergency room to our facility).

7) What should I bring to my appointment?

Please bring a copy of your I.D. and most recent insurance card. If you are currently taking any prescription or over-the-counter medications, please be prepared to share the names and dosages with us (if you recall and/or if your medicine bottles are available).

8) Do I have to pay for my visit at the time of the appointment?

Payment for immediate care services is requested at the time of service, for the amount not covered by your insurance plan. If you have insurance, please note that most insurance plans include an up-front “co-pay” for which the patient is responsible. In addition, most insurance plans include a deductible (they start payment when the dollar amount exceeds a certain dollar amount, say $250, $500 or $1000). Many insurance plans also include a co-insurance payment (the patient is still responsible for a percentage of the dollar amount of each claim, above and beyond the deductible amount).
Unless you have been sick before, or have used your insurance card, the process can be quite confusing. You may need to call your insurance company to update yourself and to refresh your memory on current terms of the coverage by your PPO or insurance carrier. We will bill your primary insurance for you. For your convenience, VISA, MasterCard, and other credit cards, as well as cash, are accepted.
If you do not have insurance, we would be happy to treat you as a “self-pay” patient.
If we are not in your current PPO network, we would be happy to accommodate you as an “out of network” provider. Our charges are very reasonable and you may find that the “out of network” fee you pay us is not significantly different than the “in network” fee you might pay. You may also find that having the convenience of receiving this immediate care service outweighs the moderate additional expense.

9) What happens if my insurance company does not pay my bill?

Health care insurance is intended to cover some, but not all, of the costs of medical care. If you have any questions about your insurance coverage, please call our office or e-mail billing@maicoh.org. If you are careful to clarify the terms of your current insurance policy before receiving treatment, there will not be any problems with coverage issues. In all medical settings, including this clinic, please be aware that the patient is ultimately responsible for payment of fees if there are problems with coverage from the insurance company.

10) How and when can I find out about any pending test results after my evaluation and treatment?

Many relevant test results are obtained “STAT” at the time of your visit. This means that the results will be shared with you immediately at the time of your visit. Some of the blood test results may take up to 90 minutes to obtain from the laboratory (for example, complete blood count, special tests to assess abdominal pain, etc.). An appropriate plan for follow up of any pending test results will be worked out with you face-to-face at the time of your visit, in particular, without exception, if these affect your treatment plan.
Example: If we obtain a “rapid strep test” throat culture which is negative at the time of your face-to-face visit, but send the swab off for more sophisticated and lengthy testing requiring 24 to 48 hours to get test results, the throat culture results will be shared with you if it is positive (and contradicts the original rapid test results, which is inherently less perfect).

11) Whom should I contact if I get sick after clinic hours or on weekends?

If you have a primary care doctor, call him or her first. If appropriate, or if in doubt, call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency room, or seek care at another immediate care center. The physician should be able to evaluate the situation and contact your doctor (if you have one) if you require admission to the hospital.

12) Do your doctors treat young children?

Yes, we do treat children over the age of 6 months.   However, if your child is 6 months old or younger and has a fever, he/she is best evaluated in an emergency department.

13) May I communicate directly with the doctors associated with Michigan Avenue Immediate Care via email?

If you have a non-medical, non-urgent question, you may send this to admin@maicoh.org.   In most cases we will be able to respond within 24 to 48 hours.  Feel free to call us at (312) 201-1234 if you have any questions regarding your medical concerns. Our physicians will respond as quickly as possible, and often immediately, to your medical questions or concerns.