Who Can You Call in the Middle of the Night With Health Questions?

Overnight medical emergencies demand immediate attention and care as patients who use help-lines and physician call services seek a professional response. The closure of clinics and daily medical center services prevents the normal use of a hospital or medical center. In addition, many patients simply seek reassurance as consultations range from complex medical issues to the more mundane medical situations.

Major Medical Centers

• Many major medical centers provide a toll-free 24-hour live helpline for in-home medical consultation. The line functions through the use of licensed nursing professionals who answer health-related questions and provide advice on the treatment of common ailments. Patients can locate these lines through the pages of a local phone book or by visiting the patient services section of the local hospital's website.

Physicians

• Patients in small or rural communities often contact local family practitioners for help with ailments and on-going health matters. These medical professionals often reside in the immediate community with the majority of their patients and provide a more intimate form of medical care and consultation. Even in urban areas, family care practices will often have a doctor on-call to answer questions at any time of the day or night. Check with your doctor's office about what its after-hours policies are.

Internet

• Concerned patients find medical advice and health-care information via a wealth of Internet-based medical information services. Many of these services provide pages of information related to the signs, symptoms and treatment of many health conditions. For example, sites like WebMD and My healthEVet act as medical resource sites for at-home consultation.

Caregivers

• Patients with an assigned or on-call caregiver enjoy the benefits of 24-hour medical care and response. These practitioners exist as both patient companions and primary care providers. Activities such as the dispensing of medication and wound management round out the benefits of in-home care givers.