Choosing the Appropriate Place of Care
Written by Laura Hamel
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06 November 2009
AfterOurs Urgent Care will help you get the right care, right now! We believe it is important to educate the community on choosing the appropriate place of care.
How to choose the right care for your injury or illness
When to go to the ER:
It’s best to seek care in an emergency room only if you are experiencing a life or limb threatening emergency. For instance, you’re experiencing chest pain, stroke like symptoms, or are bleeding heavily.
The CDC estimates that approximately 50% of injuries and illnesses treated in an emergency room setting, could be treated in a primary care office or urgent care center. By seeking treatment for non-life and limb threatening injuries and illnesses in your physician’s office or in an urgent care center, you’ll allow emergency room staff to do a more effective job of handling serious injuries and illnesses. You’ll also enjoy the benefits of saving money and time. On average, an urgent care visit is less than half the cost of an emergency room visit with much shorter wait times.
When to go to an urgent care center:
Seek treatment in an urgent care facility when your physician is unavailable, but you’re injury or illness isn’t serious enough to require treatment in an emergency room. When your physicians’ office is closed, urgent care centers are often open late into the evening and also offer weekend and holiday hours. Urgent care centers treat an array of ailments such as respiratory illnesses including colds bronchitis, flu and asthma exacerbations. They can deal with minor trauma including fracture, laceration repair and wound care. Common ailments including Strep, ear infections, skin infections and abscesses. All can be treated at an Urgent Care center with significantly shorter wait and treatment times than emergency room’s.
When to see a PCP:
Unless you’re experiencing a medical emergency, always call your primary care provider’s office before seeking treatment elsewhere. Your primary care provider will take into account your long term health history to help you make important decisions about your immediate health needs. Though many urgent care centers do offer immunizations, vaccinations, and long term prescriptions for medication, you should always receive these types of services from your primary care provider.
If you don’t have insurance, it is still important to designate a physician to mange your health on an ongoing basis. In most cases it is less expensive to see your primary care physician than to go to Urgent care or an Emergency room. Do some planning now to establish a healthcare relationship with someone you trust, even though you may not need to visit them today.
Finally, if you do seek treatment in an emergency room or urgent care facility, ask to have your treatment records forwarded to your primary care provider. The next time you visit your physician, they’ll have a better understanding of your overall health picture.
