So often, urgent care is much more beneficial than a trip to the emergency room that could result in a long wait. Clinic care offers immediate care by qualified medical professionals for many different injuries and illnesses. When making the choice between the ER and clinic care is the severity of the issue you face. Remember that the emergency room prioritizes life-threatening illnesses and injuries rather than treating patients in order. You likely have an urgent care center right around the corner that can provide proper care for anything at all hours of the day.
Other Considerations Regarding Clinic Care
Sometimes a condition may not seem life-threatening, though it may be a chronic issue that should have been treated long ago. Given the fact that about 60% of all American baby boomers face chronic conditions, these are the health issues that are likely not considered life-threatening upon first entering the emergency room. However, if you must continue waiting for hours without treatment there is potential for that issue to get worse. For this reason, urgent care clinics provide access to expert doctors who are able to help maintain your existing condition 24 hours a day. This way, no one has that risk, and all patients have access to proper care at every moment of the day. If a health issue is determined to be life-threatening and in need of hospitalization, the walk in clinic staff is able to help send patients there right away.
The Emergency Room vs. Urgent Care Clinics
Considering the commonly assumed need to go to the emergency room for any injury or illness, there are many questions to ask. It may take some determination as to the level of your issue before running right into the ER. Some of the questions you may be able to answer in order to help avoid an unnecessary wait include the following:
- Is your pain actually serious or just aggravating?
- Do you believe you need surgery or more likely physical therapy and treatment?
- Are you facing more chest or abdominal pressure than sharp pain?
- Do you have additional symptoms of a more serious illness?
- Do you have a fracture or sprain that can be temporarily immobilized until you get to the hospital?
These are only some of the questions you can ask in order to determine the answer between the ER and clinic care. With thousands of urgent care centers across the country, there are about 20,000 certified doctors who serve all patients, you have access to service 24 hours a day. So many people are scared by chest pain, even though there is often no real reason to believe you are currently suffering a heart attack. If you don’t have additional symptoms of a heart attack, then urgent care is likely the best option as respiratory conditions were the most common diagnoses as of 2012. If you visit urgent care with either of these you will be more likely to see a doctor right away, and then if it is a heart attack you will be transported to the hospital immediately for emergency treatment. And even better, if you only have the upper respiratory condition you end up saving a lot of money by choosing clinic care over the emergency room.