Member story: Quick-thinking kept this beach accident from ruining Anne's family vacation

2-minute read

While on vacation this summer, Anne and her 7-year-old daughter were crab hunting on a stretch of rocky Rhode Island beach when a stubbed toe sent Anne hobbling back to her lounge chair. After rinsing her foot with a bottle of water, she examined the bleeding and suspected her toe wasn’t just cut, but broken.

Anne is a state employee and HealthSelect of Texas^® plan participant; she has the BCBSTX app on her phone. First thing she did was open it and use the “search nearby location” tool to find an urgent care provider. This helped reduce cost for both her and the health plan by avoiding an unnecessary emergency room visit.

The app quickly offered her several in-network options within just a few miles, and had the phone number pre-linked so she could easily call around to make sure she picked a place with an x-ray machine and little wait time.

Within 20 minutes of the accident, she’d found care and was on her way. This peace of mind helped her calm her daughter while they waited for their ride.

The urgent care clinic confirmed her toe was broken and prescribed antibiotics to avoid a deep infection, which Anne was able to pick up from a nearby in-network pharmacy.

“It was pretty remarkable,” Anne says, “that within 3.5 hours from the incident, I was already back at the vacation rental and knew no big bill was headed my way.” She was home in time to put her kids to bed.

While an orthotic boot and prescription were souvenirs Anne didn’t plan to bring back from her trip, she was glad this didn’t turn into a vacation-ruining accident. She was impressed with how easy the process was to find in-network care thousands of miles from Texas and happy that the cost for her visit was the same as if she had been just a few blocks away from home.

Holiday travel tip

Keep Anne in mind when you travel for the upcoming holidays—or anytime. Get to know your BCBSTX mobile app so your care story can also have a happy ending.

“When a HealthSelect participant is away from home, the BCBSTX mobile app is the quickest way to find a nearby provider or chat with a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) Personal Health Assistant,” said Keith Babb, BCBSTX Personal Health Assistant.

“Whether you’re looking for the nearest emergency room, an in-network urgent care center, or you want to schedule a Virtual Visit, the app puts everything right at your fingertips. Through the BCBSTX app, you also have 24/7 access to a nurse who can help you decide where to go for care and give you a little peace of mind.”

Even if you don’t have the app, you can get quick access to in-network provider lists, NurseLine information and other helpful resources on the HealthSelect of Texas website. You also can call a BCBSTX Personal Health Assistant toll-free at (800) 252-8039 (TTY: 711), Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Saturday, 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. CT.