Lubbock, Texas, is known as “Hub City” throughout the region. This bustling town functions as the center of education, economics, and healthcare for the multi-county area. Residents of surrounding counties, as well as the metro region’s 314,840, make use of Lubbock’s thriving network of healthcare systems and providers.
Lubbock is home to the main campus of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (its own institution, separate from Texas Tech University), which educates over 4,500 students in medical professions annually. Texas University Medical Center and Covenant Health System are two of the very largest employers in any field, by number of employees, in Lubbock. Over 7% of employees in Lubbock work as healthcare practitioners or technicians, and many more work in healthcare administration.
Some of the most notable healthcare facts about the area include:
- 85.1% of Lubbock residents have health insurance, usually through an employer
- There is one primary care doctor per 1,280 patients
- 7.1% of employees are healthcare practitioners or technicians
- The average healthcare consumer’s annual charges are $6,998 as of 2014, which includes charges that are picked up by insurance.
- The median income per capita in Lubbock is $47,326, so health expenditures make up a significant part of the average person’s salary, and are 11.2% above the national average in healthcare spending
Our guide to Health Professionals in Lubbock will cover the most popular and highest-rated medical and healthcare settings in the metro area and surrounding region.
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- Hospitals in Lubbock
- Pediatricians in Lubbock
- Family Practice Doctors in Lubbock
- Internal Medicine Doctors in Lubbock
- Specialist Doctors in Lubbock
- The Most Popular Doctors in Lubbock
- Telemedicine in Lubbock
Hospitals in Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock has a total of 10 hospitals, some of which focus on acute care, and others focusing on rehabilitation or specialty care:
- Covenant Medical Center
- Covenant Children’s Hospital
- Covenant Specialty Hospital
- Grace Medical Center
- Lubbock Heart Hospital
- University Medical Center
- South Plains Rehabilitation Hospital
- Sunrise Canyon Hospital
- TrustPoint Rehabilitation Hospital of Lubbock
- Llano Specialty Hospital
The largest of these medical care facilities is Covenant Medical Center, with 394 staffed hospital beds total, and University Medical Center, with no less than 476 beds. Both offer acute care including emergency medicine and intensive care and specialized services like neurosurgery, oncology, and cardiovascular services. Both are also teaching hospitals, which are generally associated with higher quality of care and patient outcomes. Not surprisingly, University Medical Center has the largest number of interns and residents, with a total of 218.
Pediatricians in Lubbock
Adults rely on primary care physicians for their general medical care; children rely on pediatricians, who are trained to treat newborns, teenagers, and every age between. Since children usually need more frequent checkups and vaccinations than adults do, finding a reliable pediatrician is important. Along with general pediatricians, there are also pediatricians specialties like:
- Pediatric Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialists
- Pediatric Oncologists
- Pediatric Allergists
- Pediatric Dermatologists
- Pediatric Neurologists
In Lubbock, there are 195 pediatric providers, of whom 165 are general care pediatricians, and 30 are pediatric specialists of some type. It should come as no surprise that the majority of pediatric doctors are affiliated with one of the city’s two main hospitals: University Medical Center and Covenant Medical Center. Hospital-affiliated pediatric centers like Texas Tech Physicians Pediatrics offer weekend hours and online appointment booking for added convenience.
While hospital-affiliated pediatric care is the go-to choice for neonatology, surgery, and specialist services like pediatric neurology, many parents choose smaller clinics for routine care. One option for underserved families Lubbock Children’s Health Clinic, which has been providing low-cost and no-cost pediatric care since 1939 and has two locations in the city.
Family Practice Doctors in Lubbock, Texas
Everyone should have a primary care physician, who performs their routine checkups and serves at the hub for all their medical needs. Primary care physicians can be general practitioners or doctors of internal medicine, but most are family practice doctors. Family practice doctors are qualified to provide care to people of all ages and genders. This is an especially good choice for families who’d like all members to be seen by the same physician. Having one doctor handle care for a family adds convenience and can be helpful in managing conditions with a hereditary component such as asthma, eczema, diabetes, or celiac disease.
Lubbock has a wide selection of family practice doctors, with 234 family medical providers in the city. Over half of these allow patients to complete their appointments online, about half have more than ten years’ experience, and 24 of these accept Medicaid. Many of the city’s family practice providers are associated with Texas Tech Family Medicine, which has two locations in Lubbock. Texas Tech Family Medicine provides travel medicine, osteopathy, and sports medicine as part of their family medicine as well.
Internal Medicine Doctors in Lubbock, Texas
Internists, or Internal Medicine Doctors, are another form of Primary Care physician. These medical providers specialize in treating adults. In addition to providing routine care like checkups, vaccinations, and periodic illnesses, doctors of internal medicine provide more intensive or ongoing care for people with higher medical needs. This frequently means managing chronic conditions like diabetes, epilepsy, or rheumatoid arthritis.
For those who work with a medical care team, such as people seeing a joint specialist, a physical therapist, and a nurse practitioner, a doctor of internal medicine functions as the hub of their treatment, communicating with different providers and planning care. There are 163 internal medicine doctors in Lubbock. Of these, about half are accepting new patients at any given time.
Specialist Doctors in Lubbock, Texas
Specialist doctors see patients for non-routine medical issues related to a particular condition or part of the body. For instance, oncologists see people who have or have had cancer, and cardiologists treat conditions of the heart and vascular system. some doctors also have sub specialties; for instance, a pediatric oncologist treats children with heart conditions. Patients in every demographic need medical treatment, and all parts of the body need care, so there are many, many different kinds of specialists doctors to address each. Some of these are:
Because Lubbock’s largest medical centers are actually teaching hospitals, this city is home to more specialists than most cities its size, which is great news fro those seeking treatment beyond routine care. Covenant Medical Center and University Medical Center have specialty doctors in large and well-resourced clinics, such as:
- Joe Arrington Cancer Research and Treatment Center
- Emergency and trauma care, including Neonatal Intensive Care and Obstetric Emergency Care
- Covenant Heart & Vascular Institute
- Covenant NeuroScience Institute
- Ambulatory Surgery Center
- Owens-White Outpatient Rehabilitation Center
- UMC Heart Center
- UMC Southwest Gastroenterology
- UMC Burn Center
- UMC Nephrology and Kidney Transplantation
- Texas Tech Family Medicine Anesthesiology
- Texas Tech Family Medicine Geriatrics
- Texas Tech Family Medicine Obstetrics
Both Covenant and University have been nationally recognized for the quality of their heart and cancer treatment centers, and also have highly-regarded diabetes treatment and bariatric surgery centers. Texas Tech Physicians of Lubbock have hospital privileges at UMC Health System and Covenant Health System.
The Most Popular Doctors in Lubbock, Texas
Most doctor’s visits are for routine medical care, such as for colds, flu shots, checkups, muscle sprains, and sinus infections. Many people opt to visit an urgent care facility for such issues, especially when being seen right away is a priority, as in the case of common issues like urinary tract infections. Two of the most popular sites for this type of routine care in Lubbock are Texas Tech Family Medicine and Covenant Medical Center.
Texas Tech Physicians of Lubbock is the largest medical practice in West Texas, and Texas Tech Family Medicine provides services in two locations: Grand Expectations and Texas Tech Physicians Medical Pavilion. Texas Tech Family Medicine provides all-ages care, from well baby visits through geriatric care. Their services include:
Texas Tech Family Medicine also allows patients to request appointments online and manage their care through Texas Tech Family Medicine’s patient portal.
Another popular provider site, Covenant Medical Center offers no less than six locations providing urgent care and walk-in care. These include:
Covenant Medical Center has a patient portal as well, and also helps patients track current wait times in each of its locations online, so that they know what to expect going in to a walk-in visit.
Telemedicine in Lubbock, Texas
Technology has streamlined almost every aspect of our lives, and healthcare is no exception. One of the fastest-growing areas in medicine is telemedicine, which is simply when medical providers see patients remotely through video conferencing. Telemedicine allows patients in areas with few medical professionals to access services like wound care. But the most common use of telemedicine is for routine visits through a clinic’s online portal.
Providers typically see patients for telemedicine for the same type of routine conditions that would otherwise require a visit to urgent care, such as a sinus infection, sprain, UTI, or flu. Telemedicine allows patients to avoid travel and waiting rooms and to see a provider in the comfort of their own home, all of which are especially helpful when you’re feeling too ill to visit an office trip. Many doctors and nurse practitioners offer telemedicine 24/7, which can be especially welcome when a medical condition strikes outside of office hours. Telemedicine is also typically cheaper than on-site care since it bypasses the expenses associated with a physical office.
The following providers offer telemedicine throughout the state:
- University of Texas System
- Ascension Online Care
- Plushcare
- Oscar
- UnitedHealthCare
- My Remedy
- Alon Family Health
- BCBS Texas
- Ambetter
- My AmeriGroup
The University of Texas System is one especially convenient option and serves both academic institutions like UT Arlington and medical institutions like UT Southwestern Medical Center. Member of the UT Select and UT Connect medical plans can access their telemedicine services 24/7/365 with a $0 copay. Providers can also provide e-prescriptions. Users can access this service through the University of Texas System online portal or the system’s app.
Plushcare is another popular option for telemedicine. Unlike the University of Texas System, Plushcare isn’t affiliated with a particular insurance carrier, and accepts most major plans; the majority of users with insurance incur a copay of $20 or less. Those without insurance can use the service as well, and pay a reasonable flat rate of $99. Users can access Plushcare’s network of physicians online or from their mobile device, and Plushcare’s doctors have an average of 15 years professional experience. In addition to doctor’s visits, patients can access PrEP HIV-preventative medicine and get lab work completed remotely.