Back-to-School Physicals with Walgreens Healthcare Clinic

My 5-year-old, Cooper, is starting kindergarten this year so we got him his school physical recently with our regular pediatrician, but I forgot that Dexter, who’s starting preschool, would need one too. It’s already August and school starts soon so I knew it would be difficult to get an appointment for Dexter. Then I heard about Walgreens Healthcare Clinics offering school physicals for only $39 with no appointment needed! Perfect timing!

I visited the Walgreens Healthcare Clinic website to find a location near me. I found two locations near me. The website let me see if appointments were available and what the waiting time was for walk-ins. I considered making an appointment, but it’s hard to predict when I’ll manage to get the three kids ready to go and out the door; it seems like we’re always too early or late for appointments (although more often we’re late!). I decided to try a walk-in physical.

It was nice not having to stress about being there at a certain time. We took our time getting to the Walgreens and when the kids wanted to run in the grass before getting in the car, or stop and look at the statue outside the store I didn’t have to rush them.

When we arrived there were a few other walk-ins checking in as well. Walgreens has a kiosk and you use a touchscreen to enter your information to sign in.

It took a couple minutes and then we relaxed in the waiting area. There’s a screen that shows the order of patients so I could see there were two people ahead of us. The boys tried to read the words on some of the packages of pain relievers while we waited.

We waited about half an hour and then it was our turn. We saw a nurse-practicioner and she was very friendly with all three kids and very understanding of Dexter being a little shy and nervous. She explained everything she was doing (like the blood pressure cuff would “hug” his arm a bit) and chatted with Dexter to make him comfortable. She made sure I didn’t have any questions or concerns and showed us Dexter’s progress on his growth chart (I brought records from his most recent well-visit with our pediatrician).

I was very satisfied with the physical and we were in and out pretty quickly.

After the physical we shopped at Walgreens; they had a huge section of back-to-school items and a grocery section. They even had a refrigerated case with prepared food like sandwiches and sushi, as well as a fresh produce display.

Walgreens is offering school and sports physicals for only $39 until September 30, 2013. After September 30 they were return to the regular $60 price. Walgreens does not to any immunizations so if your child needs them you have to have them done elsewhere. Although Walgreens accepts health insurance, school physicals are generally not covered by insurance so you are required to pay for them at the time of your appointment; you do receive a receipt that you can submit to your insurance if you believe they may cover it. You can visit this website to determine what paperwork you need to bring with you for your child’s physical.

Walgreens Healthcare Clinic is a great option if you:

• Don’t have a regular primary care physician
• Need to see a healthcare professional in the evenings or on weekends
• Don’t want to wait for an appointment
• Want or need something within walking distance

You can follow @Walgreens on Twitter and like the Walgreens Facebook page.

I’m so relieved to have Dexter’s physical done – it’s one thing I can cross of my list as I rush to get things done in time for back to school!