BestMed Urgent Care - Salem — Attraction in Salem

Thank god for BestMed Urgent Care. I’m a real patient and have lived in Salem all my life—here’s my urgent care saga and why I recommend BestMed:

When you need urgent care, the last thing you want to hear is “we’re booked for the day but you can try again tomorrow…or go to ER.” And yet, this was the situation I found myself in after stopping by Salem Clinic and a couple other urgent care clinics.

Sigh.

Side note: Can you really call yourself urgent care when you tell people to come back the next day and MAYBE they’ll be able to see you?

Anyway, back to my story…

A week ago, my adorable baby puppy and I were playing around and the little guy accidentally nipped my finger tip. One of his little fangs slid right under my fingernail and I let out a few choice expletives before going and cleaning my minor wound. It hurt but didn’t seem like anything serious.

And then a few days later, I noticed how tender that finger tip had become. After a few more days of increased swelling and pain, I decided I better play it safe and get it examined by a pro.

Easier said than done.

This was basically the exact type of injury urgent care was invented for. I knew I likely needed antibiotics and maybe a tetanus shot, but the last thing I wanted to do was spend an expensive day waiting at ER. The swelling was getting bad but it wasn’t like my finger was about to fall off.

Frustrated by the lack of availability at various urgent care clinics, I was going to roll the dice and leave my infected puppy bite untreated and hope it would resolve itself.

But then, as I was rejected from another so-called urgent care clinic, I noticed a new clinic—BestMed—had opened in the same parking lot as a Zoom care.

After being shot down at four other clinics, I decided I’d try one last time to get treatment for my wound. Not gonna lie—I was skeptical at first. Last time I was in this building, it was a Mexican restaurant. However, I was pleasantly surprised by what I found inside.

I entered the BestMed clinic around 2:45 p.m. on a Friday. I was impressed to discover a clean and modern facility. I was also thrilled to see only one person in the lobby and no one in line.

The friendly receptionist provided me with the typical new patient forms, which took about 10 minutes to complete (most of that time was me having to look up my insurance info on my employer’s website). I turned in my forms and about 20 minutes later I was called back. Over the next 20 minutes or so, I was seen by the nurse and doctor—both of whom seemed like seasoned pros. They sent in a prescription for antibiotics right away and gave me some simple tips on how to manage my wound, which have worked like a charm.

As I suspected, I needed antibiotics and was offered a tetanus shot, which I gladly accepted for good measure. After waiting about 10 minutes to ensure I didn’t have a bad reaction, I was out the door and headed back home (where my puppy was eagerly awaiting my return!).

I was done around 4:15 p.m. and to my delight, my prescription was ready for pickup only a few minutes after leaving the clinic. If you are unfamiliar with urgent care/ER, then let me tell you—90 minutes from start to finish for a new patient is lightning fast!

My insurance covered just about everything aside from a small copay.

So let’s recap: in less than 90 minutes, i completed new patient papers, saw a doctor, got a tetanus shot and antibiotics, and was back home with my puppy. With insurance, all of this only cost me about $30.

Had I gone to ER, I’d probably still be waiting to be treated and it would have cost me 10 times more.

In conclusion, BestMed is an excellent urgent care clinic and a clean, efficient and professional operation. The staff is professional and knowledgeable.

Next time i experience a puppy-related injury, I won’t even bother with Salem Clinic or Zoomcare—I'm going straight to BestMed. If you want quick, affordable, and quality care, you should...

Beware!!! What a horrible experience! Going to urgent care is never a great experience but this was the worst! I will start this review by quoting the companies slogan from their values poster, "We treat our patients as we would want to be treated!" I'm not going to say everyone failed here because their was one receptionist, Kay, who was extremely wonderful. Unfortunately I can't say the same for everyone else! First I waited about 2 hours to go back to the exam room when I was 6th in line. Ok not terrible but maybe they could use more help if it takes them that long to get through 6 people. Then when I got back to the exam room I met with the MA immediately and was told the doctor would be in shortly. An hour later the doctor showed up. That process was a joke because I was told I couldn't get antibiotics but she would prescribe me a couple inhalers. After spending 3 1/2 hours there on Saturday I went home and slept. I woke up the next morning and called the pharmacy. They didn't have the prescription. Then on Monday I went in to the pharmacy and was told they still had not sent over the prescription. I called best med and they could not find anything in my chart. I told them exactly where it was on my after visit summary and they said well she didn't put in any prescription so they would have the other doctor on site Monday send it over. Three and a half hours later still nothing and now I was going to go another day without my meds. The next morning I went to my pcp who did prescribe the needed antibiotics to treat my illness. I called and spoke to Kay again who again was very apologetic and said she would have the clinic manager call me. He never did. I called back Wednesday and spoke with Kay and again she apologized and said she would tell him again. He finally called back Wednesday afternoon and said he was just told for the first time to call me which I knew was a lie but his attitude was less then helpful and just stated that the place had failed me and he would work with the staff! If he even does work with them he will have a lot to do! If you value your health be cautious if you decide to go to Best...

MEDICAL CHOP SHOP VIBES. If I could give less than a star, I would. I came in at 6:30. I know my body, I’ve been battling pneumonia for a month know. My primary is out of town and I thought I should be seen and get a chest xray. So I went in because Salem health was fully booked. The receptionist had zero reception skills. The wait was ridiculous and I only saw one person before me. There was only one provider. That’s another story. Finally get to a room and spend at least an hour and half if not two hours in there. The CNA took my vitals and wrote notes, not the greatest bedside manner but did her job.

The “provider” was FNP, Polich Fallon. First of all, she barged in the room abruptly, fine. She asked the issue and listened to my lungs. I told her the detailed history of my last month and all the meds that have been taken. She was wearing a N95 and I could hardly understand her. Her eyes were half closed and seemed out of it and disinterested. She suggested “well it’s highly unlikely you suddenly have pneumonia again today it’s just some new viral bug.” Okay cool. I asked for a Chest Xray anyways. She obliged with attitude. It shows pneumonia, like I said. Worse than before. I waited a ridiculous amount of time with nobody checking in. I had to look for someone to ask if they forgot about me since it was now 20 mins after closing and multiple staff had already said goodbye and left.

I legitimately believe had I not come out of the room AGAIN that I would have spent the night there.

I had enough, came out and said I don’t want to wait anymore can I have my discharge papers. The snarky FNP came up and her eyes were mostly closed as she spoke, I strongly suspect alcohol or at least 3 weeks of sleep deprivation. She mixed me up with someone else, etc. she prescribed me an antibiotic with multiple black box warnings. Wrote down the wrong diagnosis. And was overall the most unprofessional provider I’ve ever seen.

Literally not ever going back here and nobody else...