Even if your doctor’s office hours aren’t convenient for you or a family member’s injury or illness, you do not have to go to the hospital right away. Anxious rashes, broken bones, and severe sinus infections are all examples of urgent healthcare situations you have likely encountered in the past. An estimated 89 million people visit urgent care or walk-in clinics in the United States each year. Nearly 30 percent of all primary care appointments and 15 percent of all outpatient physician visits in the United States are devoted to these encounters. Thanks to Greensboro emergency medicine, you can get all your primary care needs to be addressed comfortably.
Urgent care is a better option than going to the ER or waiting to see your primary care physician because of these five reasons:
Immediate medical attention
A trip to the emergency room or an urgent care center is generally your only option when you need immediate medical assistance. In most cases, urgent care is the best choice unless you have a serious traumatic injury or are facing a life-threatening emergency. There is a wide range of minor to fairly significant symptoms and diseases that may be treated by urgent care doctors, from vomiting and diarrhea to conjunctivitis and ear infections. They may also handle minor asthma episodes and allergy responses.
Urgent care clinics can treat minor to moderately severe injuries, such as simple bone fractures, mild concussions, and deep lacerations that need stitches. For patients with non-emergency medical issues, going to the ER instead of urgent care may help alleviate the burden on ER physicians and nurses, enabling them to deal with the most critical issues promptly.
Attention to non-life-threatening conditions
Urgent care is a safe place to go if you are not suffering signs of a heart attack or other severe medical issues. The professionals at the emergency room have seen it all before, even spills when rollerblading. They encounter a wide range of injuries, from minor sprains and bruises to more serious fractures daily.
Cold and flu symptoms are the specialty of urgent care physicians. Asthma and allergies may also be alleviated by their use. A urinary tract infection is another prevalent illness treated in urgent care facilities.
Patients with rashes and pink eyes are taken care of here. Likewise, a person bitten by an animal is not out of the question! Unless your problem is life-threatening, you may be certain that an urgent care professional can handle it.
Access to an in-house laboratory for diagnostic testing
Most urgent care centers feature a diagnostic lab on-site where they can run a wide range of medical tests, and the findings return quickly or immediately. Blood tests may take longer to complete, but point-of-care testing such as fast flu, rapid mono, blood sugar, urinalysis, and urine pregnancy tests can provide instant results.
Affordability
In general, urgent care is less expensive than emergency rooms. Save a lot of money on public services like consultations, treatments, tests, etc. As a rule, urgent care clinics accept a wide range of health insurance plans and provide reasonable prices for individuals without insurance, from newborns to the elderly.
Always go to the ER if you are experiencing life-threatening symptoms like chest discomfort or injuries to the head and excessive bleeding or respiratory difficulty. Patients with non-life-threatening but urgently needed diseases or injuries may seek treatment in an urgent care facility.