When medical urgencies arrive, you wonder where to go. Do you need an ER, or do you need urgent care? It’s quite simple.
Urgent care will be the best place if it’s urgent, like a cough, sore throat, fever, or you need a shot. You can get urgent care in Sacramento, CA, but before you visit, read this post as we share the five important things you should know about urgent care.
Let’s get started!
What Is Urgent Care?
An urgent care center is best if you need medical help for a minor issue. This would be the best place to go if you need vaccinations or lab work. These are quite convenient and highly accessible too. People also call them immediate care centers. Some doctors are unavailable during business hours, but urgent care will be open for non-life-threatening problems.
Urgent care centers differ from emergency care centers simply because the latter is meant for life-threatening conditions. If you feel any chest pain, you must rush to an ER.
Let’s learn a few things about urgent care before you head there.
5 Important Things to Know About Urgent Care
#1 Check the Reviews and Ratings Online Before Going to Urgent Care
Before you move to urgent care, you do not think about the reviews and ratings, but it is important you check the clinic ratings and reviews. Since appointments are unnecessary, you will have to wait 10-20 minutes to meet the professional. Sometimes it takes an hour. Check all the details online.
Sometimes there are online check-ins too. You may go to the website and check all these details. Since urgent care is for non-life-threatening situations, you must only go to urgent care for minor health concerns.
#2 Choose a Center That Cares for Your Needs
If you have health insurance and want a center that accepts these, then find one that will accept it. A facility should also provide the care you need.
Some urgent care centers can care for children’s health concerns too. Then some specialize in women’s health and orthopedics.
#3 Bring All the Documentation With You
Although a doctor does not need all the medical history, you must bring all the documentation. In case there is any medical documentation that will be helpful, keep them in your bag and show them to your urgent care doctor.
You can also bring the health insurance information and the prescription medications you have been taking. Some urgent cares will also ask for a picture ID, so be prepared with the documents.
#4 Finding Out the Best Time To Go
Although urgent care has no set time limit – you can walk in anytime whenever you need urgent care. However, some days can be busy. For example, weekends are very busy or holidays could also be crowded.
Check if the urgent care is open on a specific holiday. If it is a weekend, you might have to wait longer. Knowing what time is best would be a great help. You may call urgent care before going, but they accept walk-ins.
#5 Be Prepared Not to See a Doctor
Urgent care clinics have staff in the form of doctors, nurses, and assistants. But since it is a non-life-threatening situation, you may not need to meet a doctor. You will have nurses who can prescribe treatment and diagnose the issue.
Ideally, you should go to your regular doctor for a detailed analysis. But if it is fever, rashes, sore throat, vaccination, injection, etc., then a nurse can handle these urgent requirements.
But this is not to say that you may not meet a doctor. In certain situations, you will be seeing a doctor, but urgent care is only for quick diagnoses and treatment.
Summing Up
Some people get confused between an ER and urgent care. You must go to an ER if you have chest pain, blurriness, vision issues, a racing heart, breathing difficulty, or discomfort in your lower abdomen. Emergency rooms will treat these life-threatening issues, but an urgent cannot.
Urgent care can treat burns, sprains, vomiting, dehydration, diarrhea, small lacerations, bug stings, strep throat, etc. The nurses and staff can handle these minor health concerns, so do not hesitate to go the urgent care. Urgent care is the best place for your health concerns.
You do not want to waste time at urgent care if the situation is life-threatening. So if you feel you cannot breathe or your chest hurts and the bleeding won’t stop, go to an ER immediately.
