You may have noticed as you drive throughout your community that an urgent care clinic may have recently become part of the neighborhood’s landscape, as it is a growing trend in health care today.
When a medical problem arises that requires immediate attention, it is often difficult to know whether it is truly an emergency or simply an urgent medical issue.
It’s 8 p.m., and you notice that you can’t easily remove your 4-year-old daughter’s earring. There is swelling, and you worry there are signs that it may also be infected.
This doesn’t seem like a life-threatening illness or injury that requires a visit to the emergency department, but you know you can’t wait until morning to call and see if your primary care provider has any openings.
This is a perfect example of when to use your local urgent care clinic.
Wondering how to best utilize and take advantage of what urgent care has to offer versus seeking care in the local ER?
Generally speaking, an emergency is a condition that may threaten an individual’s life or cause impairment. Urgent care, on the other hand, can treat medical problems that may not be emergencies, but still require care within 24 hours.
Seeking care in the emergency department for non-emergencies can be costly and inefficient, and most of all, it can detract emergency medical care from patients who truly need it.
If a medical problem is life-threatening, the first action should be to call 9-1-1 and receive care at the nearest emergency department. Chest pain, seizures, unconsciousness and life-threatening accidents are examples of ailments that require ER expertise and services.
Urgent care clinics have open hours that extend beyond the normal business day, thus allowing access to health care in the evening hours. Patients can also seek urgent care services seven days a week because most urgent care clinics are open weekends and holidays.
Urgent care clinics often are able to stock and administer common medications, and many have X-ray devices and simple laboratory tests onsite. These clinics handle a variety of acute and severe maladies from broken bones to flu, from urinary tract infections to lacerations, etc.
Examples of other conditions that can be treated at urgent care clinics include:
- Minor accidents and falls
- Skin infections
- Back problems
- Breathing difficulties such as asthma
- Lacerations of the skin requiring stitches
- High fever
- Vomiting, diarrhea or mild dehydration
- Sore throat or cough
- Upper respiratory and sinus infections
The cost of health care
Typically, urgent care clinics accept most health insurance plans and offer cash discounts for the uninsured. Urgent care visit co-pays, which are set by insurance companies, tend to run significantly lower than emergency visit co-pays, but slightly higher than primary care office visit co-pays.
For example, co-pays at urgent care centers usually range from $35 to $75. Primary care physicians’ co-pays are often less than $25, while ER co-pay is usually more than $100.
Is urgent care an equal substitution for my primary care?
Though urgent care clinics have carved out a vital niche in providing health care in the medical community, and have become more recognized as an essential part of the health care system, keep in mind that urgent care clinics can’t replace your primary care provider.
The focus of your primary care is geared more toward continuity of care and treatment of chronic conditions. Maintaining that relationship is always vital to your long-term health care needs.
So, when waiting for a doctor’s appointment or an ER visit isn’t an option, your local urgent care clinic is ready to give you the treatment you need. Save time, save money, feel better.
Fossil Creek Urgent Care is located at 22250 Bulverde Road, Ste 120, San Antonio, Texas 78261. For more information, contact Joel Kay, FNP/ENP, at jkay@fossilcreekurgentcare.com or 210-373-8570.
