An emergency room may be your first thought in the event of an emergency, but for non-life threatening illnesses or accidents, an urgent care facility may be more fitting. Not only do you still receive quality care in a timely manner, but you allow the ER staff to handle truly life-and-death situations.
Who can benefit from urgent care?
Urgent care facilities are designed and equipped to treat just about anyone who needs urgent medical care, as long as it is not life-threatening (such as a heart attack, stroke, wounds to the chest, or severed limbs, for example).
What services are offered by urgent care facilities?
Urgent care facilities are equipped to offer the same services as primary care physicians as well some offered in an emergency room. Some common conditions that are treated at urgent care facilities include:
- Minor burns
- Fractures/broken arms
- Sprains/strains
- Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
- STDs
- Cold and flu
- Sports injuries
- Rashes
- UTIs
- Animal bites
- Ear infections
- And many more conditions
Why choose an urgent care facility over an emergency room?
Urgent care centers usually are better-equipped than offices of general practitioners. They do not have the cat scans and ultrasound machines that hospitals do, but they do have diagnostic equipment and some facilities may even have x-ray equipment. Urgent care centers usually operate past the normal business hours of general practitioners – late into the evening and even on weekends and holidays – which makes them a good place to go when your doctor’s office is not open.
Urgent care facilities work with patients who do not have insurance. Some offer convenient payment plans for individuals who do not have insurance but need treatment.
Possibly the biggest reason to choose an urgent care facility is for their timing. For non-life threatening injuries, urgent care centers provide prompt medical care, often without an appointment. Emergency rooms usually have long wait times, and if your injury is not life-threatening, you could eventually clog the ER, adding to the wait times. By visiting an urgent care center instead, you get the medical attention you need while helping others who need more serious care.
Staff members of urgent care centers are well-trained and highly-qualified. They are just as reliable as primary care or emergency room physicians and are required to comply with the same standards as other health care facilities. Additionally, staff members are trained to recognize when an illness or injury requires more in-depth treatment than they are able to provide.