Primary Care, Urgent Care, or ER? Where to Seek Care
October 10, 2023 7:39 am
The advent of more urgent care centers has been a boon not only for busy hospital emergency rooms but for patients as well. It relieves the emergency room from seeing less than serious conditions, and it provides patients a more timely diagnosis and treatment. The question remains of when to go to your primary care physician, an urgent care, or. the emergency room.
What Are The Real Differences?
The main differences between Primary Care, Urgent Care and an ER involve: the services provided, the wait time, and the cost.
If you are ill, consider these three before you decide where to go. The most important one is, of course, the services. Are you critical? Are you in severe pain? Are your symptoms life-threatening? Those questions should determine your decision. Let’s get more specific.
Main Purposes of Primary Care
Your primary care physician (PCP) is the person who oversees your general health. You come to rely on and trust them. Unless you move away or your insurance changes, most adults remain with their primary care provider.
Your PCP gets to know you and monitors your general health. They diagnose and treat your illnesses, provide vaccines, and coordinate referrals to specialists.
They care for anything including sprains, pulled muscles, sore throats, flu, chronic disease like diabetes, and sinus infections.
All concerns that are not an emergency or need immediate care can be handled by your primary care physician. Visiting the same doctor for all your medical needs gives them a better picture of your health. This equates to a consistent and stable level of care.
What Is A True Emergency?
The purpose of a hospital emergency room is to save lives. With the increase in urgent care facilities, only the severe cases should go to an ER unless you have no choice. Lots of Americans visit the emergency room and many of those visits are unnecessary. The CDC tells us that 30% of ER visits are non-urgent.
At a hospital ER you will be triaged, meaning a nurse will determine how urgent the urgency really is. That will dictate how long you will wait.
If you are having a heart attack or a stroke, it is imperative you get immediate care, so call 911 or go directly to an ER.
Some other situations that necessitate an ER visit include: seizures, a high fever that won’t break, injury to the neck or spine, poisoning, head injury, a deep wound, drug overdose, burns, electric shock, bleeding that won’t stop, broken bone with punctured skin, vomiting blood, unconsciousness, severe allergic reaction, breathing problems.
The following include some instances where a visit to the ER is critical:
1. Chest pain
2. Trouble breathing or speaking.
3. Paralysis
4. New onset confusion
5. Head or back injuries
6. Consistent bleeding or vomiting
7. Loss of consciousness
8. Sudden, severe pain, such as a headache or stomach ache
9. Choking
10. Poisoning
11. Major burns and cuts
12. Broken bones
13. Any injury that is limb or life-threatening
Urgent Care Visits
A visit at an express care location in Corinth is recommended when you cannot get an appointment with your family doctor, and your symptoms are non-life threatening. Urgent care centers offer extended hours to provide more immediate care.
Occasions and symptoms include: fever and colds, cough and sore throat, cuts that require stitches, earaches, UTI, diarrhea and stomach pain, flu symptoms, minor burns, dehydration, sprains and strains, small cuts, a mild asthma attack, and animal bites, plus others.
If the urgent care provider thinks your symptoms are more serious, they will direct you to the ER.
If you, or someone you love, is ill or has a minor injury, don’t wait in an emergency room for hours.
Deciding Where to Go
If you are experiencing symptoms and are in need of care, first consider contacting your primary care provider. If you are in need of more immediate care and are unable to visit your primary care provider, a visit to urgent care may be a great option. If you are experiencing a life-threatening situation or are experiencing any of the more serious symptoms listed above, visit the ER.
This post was written by Magnolia Regional Health Center