Health care improves a person’s health by preventing, diagnosing, and treating a disease or condition. A healthcare clinic is a center where citizens can receive routine preventive care or see their doctor when they feel ill. A healthcare clinic is slightly smaller than a hospital, and patients don’t have to stay there overnight.
To establish a healthcare clinic in your county, you must have your center certified by the AHCA. During the licensing process, authorities won’t only assess your center but also conduct thorough criminal background research. This applies to everyone associated with the center, including your employees.
You must submit your fingerprints to an FDLE-approved center. FEFPS is a high-quality fingerprinting center where you can submit your fingerprints and get the reports generated within three days. This will help expedite your licensure process.
What is a Health Care Clinic?
A healthcare clinic, also known as a medical clinic, focuses on outpatient services. An outpatient service is a facility where you can go home after receiving the appropriate treatment. These clinics may be publicly or privately owned.
Depending on the type of healthcare clinic, you can get different types of treatment. Usually, you’ll get a routine checkup, preventive care, or medical attention when you’re sick. While most healthcare clinics offer general treatments to the public, other clinics are more specialized.
Types of Health Care Clinics
Here are a few different types of health care clinics that you may find in Florida.
Primary Care Clinics
Most clinics you’ll find are general health care clinics, also known as primary care clinics. They provide a wide range of services to citizens. The service providers in these clinics are usually general practitioners. At a primary care clinic, you can receive the following services:
- Treatment of mild symptoms such as sore throat, cough, or headache
- Laboratory testing
- Treatment of minor injuries such as cuts or burns
- Monitoring of diseases such as blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol levels
Mental Health Clinics
A mental health care clinic is a specialized facility that helps individuals suffering from anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder. These clinics are run by specialized service providers such as psychologists, psychiatrists, or social workers. A mental health clinic offers the following services to its patients:
- Evaluation and diagnosis of mental health problems
- Medical prescriptions are given as part of the treatment
- Offers individual, group, and family counseling services
- Psychiatric rehabilitation services such as learning daily skills or creating a support network
Sexual Health Clinics
A sexual health clinic is a type of specialized medical clinic that offer services related to sexual health. Usually, these clinics focus on women’s health, but some clinics provide sexual health services for men. These clinics offer the following services to their patients:
- Testing and treating sexually transmitted diseases, like HIV or chlamydia
- Access to different forms of contraception
- Conducting vaccination drives for diseases like hepatitis B
- Giving pelvic exams to women
- Offering abortion services
- Counseling and referrals for infertility
- Offers pregnancy services like pregnancy testing or prenatal exams
- Family planning services like vasectomy
- Help with men’s sexual health conditions like erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation
Addiction Service Health Clinics
An addiction service healthcare clinic is a facility that offers outpatient services to individuals who are recovering from a substance use disorder. These rehabilitation clinics are well-suited for individuals willing to attend regular counseling appointments and live in a stable environment with strong social support.
Care at these clinics for addicts can vary in intensity. The services offered at these clinics usually include the following:
- Education on drug and alcohol
- Individual or group counseling sessions
- Reinforcing the support network
Specialized Clinics
Apart from these clinics, there are other healthcare clinics with service providers trained in a certain area of medicine. Some medical professionals who can establish their healthcare clinics may include:
- Orthopedics
- Dermatology
- Dentistry
- Ear, nose, and throat
- Urology
- Gynecology
- Physical therapy
- Podiatry