Urgent care is the care that is given to individuals that need immediate medical care, but their conditions are not life threatening. Take for instance a person cuts their hand accidentally and needs medical attention. If they visit the emergency room, they will have to wait for long hours before receiving medical attention. Also, their primary care provider may not be available at the time, therefore they will seek urgent care.
Urgent care centers are available across the USA, and they are designed to offer care to such minor emergencies. Therefore, one does not have to sit in the emergency room for a minor injury and wait hours when they do not have a real emergency.
Under what circumstances would someone need urgent care?
As mentioned earlier, urgent care is provided to a person that needs immediate medical care that is not life threatening. Urgent cares are suitable for people with minor injuries that need medical attention. These centers provide 24-hour urgent care to patients, and they are most likely located near you, unlike emergency rooms that have to be in hospitals. Some of the minor injuries that a person can have treated at an urgent care center include small cuts and bruises, abdominal pains, body and joint aches, sprains, illnesses, high fevers, colds, and flu. All these ailments are minor and not life threatening. At the urgent care center, one can be examined and diagnosed. If the condition is life threatening, the center will take you to the emergency room for further medical care.
It is not advisable to go to an urgent care if you are having any life threatening symptoms. For instance, if one is experiencing shortness of breath, it is appropriate to call 911 or get emergency care. These symptoms are related to heart attacks which is a life threatening condition. If one has a medical condition that is time sensitive they can also visit an urgent care center. For example, if you have a fever or diarrhea that keeps worsening by the hour getting urgent care is appropriate. Urgent care will provide the right medication to curb the symptoms.
What to expect when one gets to the medical center
On arrival at the urgent care center, the physicians will take a look at your symptoms and examine you before diagnosis. For example, if you fell, the physicians will perform an X-ray to make sure there are no broken bones. Other tests that can be performed at urgent care include blood tests, CAT scans, mammography, and ultrasounds. The physicians then treat you accordingly, and if your condition needs more care, they will refer you to the emergency care room. The fee for getting urgent care is relatively lower and also the wait time is reduced significantly. If you do not have an appointment, you will only have to wait for less than thirty minutes, and you can receive your results in ten minutes. Utilize urgent care properly to get treatment for time-sensitive conditions.