When my son was one month old, he developed a minor cough, on the weekend, at night. As new parents, we panicked and took him to the emergency room A few months later, I had the worst headache I had ever had. Again, it was the weekend. I went to the emergency room again. Both times, we were not admitted but treated and discharged. About one month after that I received the bill; three thousand dollars for both visits combined. Our insurance did not cover the emergency room unless you were admitted from your visit. We should have went to urgent care. It was a hard lesson learned.
Most minor illnesses or emergencies can easily be treated at urgent care. At the very least, you can get a qualified doctor’s opinion for if you even need to go to the emergency room. However, it’s not always easy to make the decision between going to urgent care or the emergency room. The last thing any parent wants to do is to take their child to urgent care only to find out it was a true emergency and required the ER.
The emergency room was originally designed to provide life saving care. Over the course of time, many people use it for non life threatening emergencies that could easily be treated at an urgent care facility. However, if you are ever in doubt, the safe bet is to go to the nearest emergency room.
There are many illnesses or emergencies that can easily be treated at an urgent care facility. The list below are some of the things you should first visit urgent care for if your doctors office is not open:
- Fever without rash
- Minor trauma
- Painful urination
- Persistent diarrhea
- Severe sore throat
- vomiting
Some patients, such as busy professionals, choose to use urgent care for a more efficient doctor trip. Most doctors require a pre-set appointment, a long wait in the waiting room, and a follow up visit. Some people feel that urgent care is a quicker alternative. They are able to walk in, get treatment, and receive any prescription they need in minimal time. Though some urgent care visits will cost a higher co-pay versus seeing your normal physician.
There are different types of urgent care facilities. Many parents may choose to take their children to a pediatric urgent care. These urgent care facilities offer treatment to many illnesses that seem to plague kids frequently. The urgent care staff is trained to deal specifically with children and their sicknesses. They are able to treat ear infections, sore throats, stomach aches, and fever. Parents can save a lot of money by scoping out their nearest urgent care for night and weekend visits.
According to Express MD Urgent Care, when you visit an urgent care you usually go through the save protocol. Typically, there is a triage nurse that listens to your symptoms and evaluates if they can treat you or if you should go to the emergency room. Then you have to wait to see the next available doctor. The doctor will diagnose what is going on and recommend any required treatment. They will also recommend a follow up visit at your normal doctor, if needed.
There are approximately 9300 urgent care facilities in the United States with more opening every month. You can save big bucks by locating your nearest urgent care and making a plan for your emergency and illness after hour or weekend care. Just a little research and pre-planning can really pay off for medical expenses.
