Pressing Problems: The 4 Most Common Reasons to Go to Urgent Care

reasons to go to urgent care

Cold and flu season may be over but summer injury season is here. If you get hurt rollerblading or your child ends up with swimmer’s ear, where will you go for medical care?

Many people assume the emergency room is their only option, especially if they need care after their doctor’s office closes for the day.
We have great news!

The emergency room isn’t the only place you can go when you’re hurt or aren’t feeling well. In fact, most visits to the ER should be saved for real emergencies.

Here are 4 reasons to go to urgent care instead.

1. You Have a Non-Life Threatening Condition

Unless you’re experiencing symptoms of a heart attack or other serious medical condition, you can visit urgent care with confidence.

Your spill while rollerblading is nothing new to urgent care staff. Every day they see patients with all kinds of bumps, bruises, and even broken bones.

Urgent care doctors are experts at treating cold and flu symptoms. They also help patients deal with allergies and asthma. Another common condition treated at urgent care centers is urinary tract infections (UTI).

They treat people with rashes and pink-eye. You might even see someone with an animal bite! As long as your condition isn’t life-threatening, you can rest assured, an urgent care provider can treat it.

2. No Appointment Necessary

If you’re like most people, you don’t schedule an illness or injury. You make appointments with your doctor several weeks in advance for regular, non-emergency visits.

What do you do then if you start feeling feverish at work? Or cut your hand while preparing dinner on Saturday night?

In the past, you had two choices. Wait until tomorrow and hope your doctor has an opening. Go to the emergency room.

If you go to an urgent care center, you don’t need an appointment. They operate on a first-come, first serve basis and most are open seven days a week. 

3. Urgent Care is More Affordable

The average cost for an emergency room visit runs between $150 and $3000. That’s if you don’t have medical insurance. Even if you’re covered by a medical insurance plan, you normally pay the co-pay for an ER visit.

Contrast the out-of-pocket cost of an average urgent care visit, which is usually less than $200. Patients covered by insurance who’ve met their deductibles typically only pay their co-pay.

The cost difference alone is one of the most common reasons to go to urgent care.

Remember, costs do vary based on your diagnosis and treatment, but overall, you’ll pay less than what you’d pay for treatment in a hospital emergency room.
Also, keep in mind that some insurance companies won’t pay for treatment of non-emergency conditions if you go to the ER.

4. They Have X-Ray Machines

If you’ve never visited an urgent care center, you might not know they have many of the same amenities found at your doctor’s office or hospital emergency room.

They have x-ray machines—helpful for your little rollerblade incident. If you end up with a fracture, they have everything needed for casting the bone(s).

Need lab tests? Urgent care centers can test for anything from diabetes to strep throat. If you need an antibiotic injection or a flu shot, you’ve come to the right place!

Not only do they have modern equipment for diagnosing and treating common illnesses and injuries, but the doctors who work in urgent care centers are family care and emergency room physicians.

Need More Reasons to Go to Urgent Care?

No one enjoys feeling ill or getting injured. Now you know there’s a place you can go for non-life threatening injuries where you don’t need an appointment and can get affordable care. A place where you’ll find the same types of treatments and testing available at your doctor’s office.

You shouldn’t need more reasons to go to urgent care, but we can think of one—compassionate and personalized care.

Whatever minor illness or injury you’re dealing with, let us help! Click here for our hours and services.