While Urgent Care is often assumed on the surface to be similar to the emergency room, in fact, there is a wide gulf between the two. Emergency care is designed around immediate amelioration of a common problem, such as a car accident or gunshot wound. By contrast, Urgent Care is based around situations where an immediate resolution is not required, but specific patient issues make it important for them to be treated quickly and in a timely manner.
Urgent Care is for Serious Matters Not Related to Immediate Emergencies
Urgent Care developed out of a need to deal with potentially dangerous conditions that are not emergencies but previously would have gone to the emergency room. While they are not emergencies, they can easily become emergencies, which is why Urgent Care is primarily preventative. It seeks to deal with problematic or dangerous ailments which a patient may be aware of, but these have not risen to the level of emergencies. Because of this, Urgent Care is usually far more patient-specific than an emergency room, and it can provide a clearer, more comprehensive solution than the ER. With this in mind, Urgent Care is often more completely covered by insurance than emergency room care, which can often treat something less efficiently than an urgent care center can.
What Conditions Should Go to an Urgent Care Center?
While Urgent Care Centers are equipped to deal with any level of injury, they are most commonly used for a variety of purposes that used to go to the emergency room but are not properly classified as emergencies. For example, body injuries such as sprains are handled by Urgent Care centers. Falls and other types of accidents which do not appear to be potentially fatal go to urgent care centers. Cuts that don’t seem to be losing a lot of blood or may require stitches are a good example of injuries treated by Urgent Care centers. Fever or flu, heavy coughing, or signs of potential serious illness are ideal for the Urgent Care center when the doctor is unavailable, as well as smaller fractures or x-rays if needed. Urgent Care centers often have the tools that emergency rooms use, but these are used in a totally different way. Whereas emergency rooms require immediate assistance, Urgent Care centers help take care of serious illnesses or injuries to make sure that you’re okay.
Urgent Care is Usually In-Network
According to Prime Urgent Care (http://www.primeuc.com), urgent care centers are often in-network when it comes to insurance, which helps ensure that doctors’ records are on-file and easier to access. By making use of an in-network urgent care center, what appears to be a simple condition when presented in light of one’s medical records can often reveal something serious. The advantage of the Urgent Care center is that they can take that information to ensure that they make the smartest treatment choices to help you heal and feel better. Emergency rooms often deal with limited information about their patients and must move quickly under very limited circumstances. By contrast, an Urgent Care center is designed to ensure that your overall health is preserved and that your medical information can be used to help you heal more quickly.
This article was contributed on behalf of Prime Urgent Care. Check out the quick, professional service at Prime Urgent Care the next time you need healthcare!
