If you aren’t feeling well, calling your primary care doctor for an appointment makes sense. If your doctor can’t give you an appointment today or your situation seems serious, you may wonder if you should go to an emergency room or an urgent care center. Both medical care centers are intended to serve different types of needs, and you might sometimes wonder which facility you should use.
According to the Mayo Clinic Health System, your facility choice should be based on the severity of your injury or symptoms. An emergency room is intended for potentially life-threatening situations, like a fracture, a heart attack, or severe abdominal injuries. Emergency services should be saved for actual emergencies, including things like uncontrolled bleeding or a head injury.
Urgent care procedures typically include minor illnesses and injuries such as sprains, cuts, sore throat, or earache. Urgent care facilities are intended to treat non life threatening injuries. For example, a sprained ankle could be considered minor emergency care; for safety’s sake, it’s a good idea to rule out a fracture. Because emergency rooms are often crowded, you are more likely to quickly be led to a clinic room for an exam at an urgent care center.
Your personal health isn’t fun to think about. You have to consider your budget (which may or may not be its own source of stress), dig through your options and stay attentive to changes in the American healthcare system. Just like your parents teaching you how to floss your teeth and wash behind your ears, however, looking after your day-to-day health is a necessity you carry with you for life. It exists in the small actions. This includes knowing when to visit your regular doctor or when to seek out an emergency walk in clinic.
Rather than blow your budget on the wrong visit, become better acquainted with the function of your unique health resources.
Quick Facts
Too many Americans lose hundreds of dollars in the emergency room when they could have instead dropped by an urgent care clinic. The purpose of urgent care is to give you fast and efficient attention for minor to moderate issues, while the emergency room is only for life-threatening situations. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey recently reported that the average ER visitor will pay over $1,300. The average wait time in the ER can also be less than an hour to over an hour. What do you do when you’re not sure which option to choose in a tense situation?
Abdominal Issues
A very common medical condition causing people to seek out an emergency walk in clinic or urgent care facility is abdominal pain. Due to the rather ambiguous nature of these symptoms it can be hard for many to know why they are feeling nauseous, sore or unable to eat. Abdominal issues can be caused by work-related stress, chronic anxiety disorder and poor diet. It can also be caused by an infection, food poisoning or dehydration. Minor to moderate pain is best suited for urgent care. Severe agony, however, should require an emergency walk in clinic.
STD Testing
Family health care needs to cover the basics to ensure you’re prepared for anything life throws your way. This means seeking out fast STD testing regardless of whether or not you’re sexually active. It doesn’t take long to be tested for common strains of sexually transmitted disease. You can also learn about safer methods of sex, such as using hormonal birth control or managing better personal hygiene before and after. STD testing is a private matter and, as such, is confidential regardless of whether or not you see your doctor or go to a community health clinic.
Mental Health
Mental wellness is just as valid as physical wellness. When you feel your mood dipping far more often than is normal and you’re unable to function like you used to, the first step is to seek out a therapist to diagnose your condition. The CDC (short for Centers For Disease Control And Prevention) has seen rates of depression increasing in elderly populations, while anxiety disorder is very common in young adults. Signs you may be suffering include loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping, racing thoughts, nausea, irrational fear and mood swings.
When To Visit The ER And When To Visit Urgent Care
Spending too much money on a minor health problem will only cause you more stress. That, in turn, will cause you even more health issues down the road. Save yourself the trouble and parse out the difference now. An emergency walk in clinic will treat symptoms that can’t wait for your regular doctor, such as an allergic reaction, head trauma or a deep wound. An urgent care clinic is often used for cuts, burns, sprains, moderate abdominal pain, flu shots, UTI treatment and STD testing.
Personal health is at its best when you remember conventional wisdom. Rather than completing your journey in a day, start with small steps at a low cost health clinic.