Urgent Care Clinics are designed to take the pressure off of Hospital Emergency rooms because they were becoming too crowded and not as efficient as they needed to be. Emergency rooms were designed to handle the worst of the worst when it comes to human suffering.
A visit to an emergency room should be reserved for car accidents, gunshot wounds and dire illnesses, many of which will require surgery. The main difference is what is life-threatening versus what is more easily treatable.
For fewer catastrophic accidents and illnesses, you may need Urgent Care accommodations to take care of the problems. These types of facilities are staffed by the same licensed doctors, nurse practitioners and registered nurses as an emergency room.
In addition, most of their testing equipment is the same. The main difference is the type of emergencies they handle. Bad colds and the flu, sprains and cuts are the most common ailments needing treatment.
What an Urgent Care Facility Can Handle
Care and Treatment:
• Colds, allergies and the flu
• Cuts, bruises, and small burns
• Sprains, strains, slip and falls
• Stitches and setting some smaller broken bones
• Ear and eye infections, like Pink Eye
• Head and body aches
• Allergic reactions, asthma conditions and sinus infections
• Bug bites, animal bites, poison ivy and oak
• Strep throat and bronchitis
• Urinary tract infections and kidney stones
Testing:
• Drug testing/screening
• Mono, strep, and the flu
• Blood testing and/or drawing blood for other testing centres
• Pregnancy testing
• STD testing
• Urinalysis
Preventive Services
• Gynecological exams
• Sports exams
• School Physicals
• Well baby checks
• Vaccinations of all types
Urgent care centres can handle a wide variety of non-life-threatening illnesses and accidents that would be pushed to the back of the line at a hospital emergency room. The urgent care staff is trained to recognize when they cannot handle something and recommend you go to the local emergency room.
One of the major issues urgent care will not handle is car accidents, this includes minor ones. The main reason is that with a car accident, there may be pains and complications that show up a few days later and they don’t want to misdiagnose someone. Another reason is for legal issues that often accompany car accidents.
The majority of urgent care buildings do not have large x-ray machines or the ability to do any type of surgery other than simple stitches.
Other reasons to visit urgent care rather than the hospital emergency room include the cost. The average cost of a hospital emergency room visit, depending on the severity of your accident or illness, comes too near $1,000. An urgent care visit is typically under $200 according to 1994 medical news reports.
Hospital Emergency Room
Reasons to visit the emergency room of your local hospital include:
• Severe bleeding, bleeding that won’t stop
• Deep cuts or wounds
• Gunshot wounds
• Heart attack or stroke
• Unconsciousness with no explanation
• In labor with a baby
• Incidents that occur while between Cancer treatments
• Car accidents
If your emergency is dire, call 911 for an ambulance and they will take you to the hospital emergency room. If you are awake and able, you can call the local urgent care clinic and ask if they can help you.