Urgent Care v. ER: Know Which is Best for Your Situation

By January 23, 2014Blog, Uncategorized

~~Urgent Care v. ER: Know Which is Best for Your Situation

At some point just about everyone has had to rush into the emergency room with damaged bones, traumatic injuries or more typically, some sort of severe illness. The latter of these is actually what the ER is intended to treat. Regrettably, many people are not aware of this fact, and frequently view this particular facility as a catch-all answer when their main physician’s office is not open or obtainable. Likewise, people without medical health insurance tend to go to the ER for small injuries and ailments because these amenities must give remedy without expecting an immediate payment.

The major downside is that this small trip to the hospital, for whatever reason, can certainly cost you a large amount later. This is the reason why urgent care facilities exist, and why more people have to understand the distinction between them and the hospital emergency room. If you are considering medical health insurance, it is vital that you remember that your coverage is going to be limited to a good extent. It covers a portion of the medical expenses, but not all. When you factor in the high cost of hospital visits, it literally pays to understand why an immediate care facility is usually the better option for treatment.

Differences Between the ER and Urgent Care Services?

● An emergency room (ER) is intended to treat life-threatening accidental injuries or symptoms; you should call 911 for those who have trouble breathing, possess sudden or serious pain or tend to be experiencing heavy blood loss, among other things.

● The actual ER is available 24/7 and you are guaranteed to get treatment any time of the day . This is one of the reasons why the service is so terribly expensive.

● An emergency room visit generally costs 4x more than a trip to the urgent care service and 2x more than most of physician visits; for this reason you should just go there when there is an emergency.

● The ER serves patients depending on need. This means wait times are usually very long, as treatment is actually provided to people on the scale of medical severity. It’s for this particular reason that an urgent care facility is actually recommended for non-life-threatening problems.

● Urgent treatment facilities have physicians, nurses and assistants on staff. They provide a full range of treatment services, including giving prescriptions.

● Urgent care facilities aren't open 24/7, however they do often provide extended hours for their patients.

● The cost with regard to treatment at immediate care facilities is a lot less than the actual ER and the wait times are nowhere near as long.

It is easy to understand the benefits of an urgent treatment facility vs. the emergency room. While the latter is essential for life-threatening problems, the majority of problems associated with ER patients would be better served somewhere else. Also, given that the price of treatment at immediate care facilities is cheaper compared to ER visits, most small group medical health insurance plans will cover the healthcare bills incurred from them. Be sure to choose your plan according to these tips before making your final decision.