The Emergency Room vs Urgent Care, Where to Go When You Are Sick?

It's that time of year when people are not feeling their best! They are dealing with colds, viruses, COVID, and other illnesses of the season. Once you realize that the medicine you have been taking or the vitamins aren't working, do you know where you seek medical treatment? In the distant past, there was only one place to head to and that was the Emergency Room. Today, that is not the only option, there are now Urgent Care Centers in your community. They seem like they are popping up everywhere, just like your local pharmacy or corner store.

Here's the thing, health issues can arise at any time and it most certainly seem to be at the most inconvenient times. So, when you get in the car, where do you head? You aren't really sure; however, this may help in your decision making. Urgent care clinics don't require you to schedule an appointment first in order to be seen. You can head straight there and be seen by a health care professional. Destroying any myths, urgent care clinics are capable of diagnosis, treatment and they can manage health issues. Those are issues that aren't typically a life and death situation. Health experts at Henry Ford Health said, if you have minor injuries, allergy symptoms, allergic reactions, asthma and the most common for this time of year, flus, colds, strep throat and sinus pains. That is when you head to the urgent care clinic.

Now if it is something that is life and/or death or possibly an issue that someone would call it a medical emergency, then don't waste your time. Just like the phrase in monopoly says, "pass go, collect $200 dollars", except in this case, do not collect $200, head straight to the emergency department at the hospital. Symptoms include chest pain, heart pain, high or low blood pressure, pressure in the head, fainting, sickle cell anemia crisis, loss of vison and many others. It's extremely important due to timing. In this situation, the amount of time lost can result in damages that are unrepairable.

Urgent care clinics are high in demand due to affordable care cost. Medical experts have stated that clinics receive about 29% of all primary care visits in the US and close to 15% of all outpatient physician visits. Another reason for the increase of patients is because the wait time is less than 20% and nearly 94% of patients were seen in 30 minutes or less.

It is also interesting to know that in the most recent study completed by the National Center for Health Statistics that in 2019, 29.2% of adults had one or more urgent care visits within a 12-month time period. It's also interesting to note that there is a decrease in usage of urgent care clinics as both men and women increase in age. Here's an interesting fact, experts and research shows with a higher level in education, comes an increase in utilization of urgent care units.

Now the emergency room department shows a bit of a difference.

There are close to 140 million people who visit the emergency department (ED). However, only about 18 million visits end in a hospital admission. Did you know that about 2.8 million visits to the emergency department results in visits that require the patient to be placed in the critical care unit.

As you have read, the numbers are vastly different and can be alarming. If you think about just the amount of wait time that can be experienced in the emergency department versus the urgent care, you may think twice about it next time. However, before you jump in the car to seek medical attention for your family member, friend, or yourself, think about how severe your symptoms really are. Will you pull up to the urgent care clinic next time or will you still continue to head to the emergency room? The decision is yours! Always remember, if or someone is experiencing a life-threatening situation or medical attention is needed, never hesitate to call 9-1-1.