When you’re ill, in pain, or in need of immediate medical assistance, you might struggle with deciding where to go for help. Lines can blur between urgent care and emergency rooms, leaving you confused. Here, we’ll go over those differences and answer the question: Why go to an urgent care facility versus an emergency room?
Overcrowding and Long Wait Times
Probably the most obvious difference between urgent care and emergency rooms is the fact that ERs tend to be wrought with people, no matter the time of day or night. Overcrowding is a major problem in ERs. Urgent care facilities are typically less full than ERs, thus reducing the sometimes hours-long wait times.
Urgent Vs. Emergency Ailments
Many people use emergency rooms for non-emergency situations. This contributes to the above-mentioned overcrowding. Colds and flu, minor cuts and burns, and sprains, are all included in the urgent, yet not emergency, medical issues. For these, it’s best to skip ER crowds and waiting and come into urgent care. You’ll receive the same care as in an ER, only quicker.
Seek an emergency room for critical ailments such as dizziness, deep wounds with profuse bleeding, severe burns, and head injuries. Always call 911 for symptoms associated with heart attack or stroke.
Another way to look at it is this: If you would, under normal circumstances, go to your primary care provider for an issue, you can go to an urgent care for its treatment.
Too often, people opt for visiting an emergency room when an urgent care facility might provide faster, more convenient care. For more information about urgent care services and your options, please contact us at OnCall Medical Clinic of Ocean Springs at 228 818-5155