Urgent Care

Urgent Care

When we need immediate health care, it’s seldom something we are prepared for.

Sometimes it's hard to know whether an urgent care or an emergency room is the right place to go. Your choice could affect both your health and your finances.

♦ Urgent care clinics are not a substitute for your primary care physician. An urgent care is a place to go when your doctor's office isn't open and you need treatment for minor accidents and illnesses.

An urgent care is for an illness, injury or condition serious enough that a reasonable person would seek care right away, but not so severe it requires emergency room care.

An urgent care provider will likely recommend that you follow up with your regular doctor.

♦ Urgent care is not emergency care

Urgent care is not a substitute for emergency care. In general, an emergency condition is one that can permanently harm you or put your life in danger.

Life-threatening emergencies, such as a heart attack or a serious injury, require emergency room care.

♦ Call 911 or go to the emergency room for:

• Chest pain or pressure

• Signs of a stroke: face drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech

• Trouble breathing

• Severe bleeding that won't stop

• A head injury with confusion or passing out

• A fever in a baby under 3 months old

Urgent Care Clinic

Urgent care clinics and urgent care centers are a form of walk-in clinic. They're usually staffed by physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses and X-ray technicians. At many clinics, you'll see a nurse practitioner or physician assistant rather than a doctor.

♦ Urgent care clinics treat issues that go beyond the scope of retail clinics, like MinuteClinic and The Little Clinic located in drugstores and grocery stores, but that don't require emergency room care.

Urgent care clinics are set up to help patients with a variety of medical problems that need treatment right away but aren't true emergencies.

Urgent care clinics can be a place to turn to on the days and hours your primary care physician isn't open, or when an appointment isn't available.

When to Choose an Urgent Care

Illnesses and injuries treated at urgent care centers aren't life-threatening. Specific symptoms and conditions where you may consider going to an urgent care center include:

• Minor injuries such as sprains

• Moderate back problems

• Severe sore throat or cough

• A fever not higher than 104 degrees (for babies under 3 months, any fever means a call to the doctor or a trip to the ER)

• Mild to moderate asthma

• Bleeding/cuts — not bleeding a lot but requiring stitches

• Diagnostic services, including X-rays and laboratory tests

• Eye irritation and redness

• Vomiting, diarrhea or dehydration

• Skin rashes and infections

What are the advantages of an urgent care clinic?

Cost is the primary advantage compared to visiting an emergency room. Most health insurance plans have a copay for urgent care clinics. This is often $50 to $100.

♦ Many individual health insurance plans now require a percentage (coinsurance) for emergency room visits after you first satisfy your annual deductible. This makes emergency room visits extremely expensive, especially for a family with a high-deductible plan.

Another advantage of urgent care clinics is that you can walk in. No appointment is needed.

Urgent care clinics have flexible hours. Many are open during the day and into the evening, as well as weekends. The wait times are much shorter than at the emergency room.

Many urgent care clinics have X-ray and lab testing equipment.

Urgent care providers commonly write prescriptions for short-term problems, like antibiotics for an infection. A few even hand out medicine on site. But most won't manage your long-term medications. That's your primary care doctor's job.

♦ Don't forget virtual urgent care. Many insurance plans now cover video or phone visits with a doctor or nurse practitioner, often for a lower copay than an in-person visit. Many are available around the clock. It's a good option for things like rashes, colds, pink eye and urinary tract infections.

What are the disadvantages of an urgent care clinic?

Urgent care clinics are not for life-threatening care. If you have a life-threatening health issue and go to an urgent care clinic, they'll likely transfer you to the nearest emergency room.

• For the most part, the provider at the urgent care clinic won't know your personal health history or the medications you take.

This is changing as medical records and test results are stored electronically. But the clinic may not be able to link to your records, so be prepared to provide this information when you visit.

Not all cities and towns have urgent care clinics, especially in rural areas.

♦ Many urgent care clinics are now owned by hospital systems or large chains. Hospital-owned clinics sometimes add a facility fee on top of the visit charge. Ask before you go.

Just because your in-network hospital's name appears in the urgent care center's name doesn't guarantee the clinic is in your network.

• It's critical to find out whether your insurance plan covers the place you plan to visit. That can be hard to figure out when you have an emergency and are hurrying to find help.

• The No Surprises Act protects you from most surprise out-of-network bills at emergency rooms. But it usually doesn't cover regular urgent care clinics. That's why checking your network first matters.

♦ Watch out for freestanding emergency rooms. They often look just like urgent care clinics, right down to the strip mall location. But they bill like a hospital ER, and a visit can cost many times more. If the sign says "Emergency," it's probably an ER. Ask before you check in.

♦ It's best to plan ahead by locating the closest urgent care clinics your health insurance plan covers. Write down their locations and hours, so you can go quickly if you need to.

Services available at one urgent care clinic may not be available at another. For example, one clinic may offer X-rays and blood tests on site while another urgent care clinic may not.

♦ 24-hour urgent care clinics are very rare. Extended-hours clinics can also be hard to find. If you can find one in your area, keep its address somewhere easy to find.

Typically, urgent care clinics are open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm seven days a week, with some closing for national holidays.

So when you need help outside their hours, and a virtual visit won't do, you may have no choice but to visit an emergency room.

Summary

Urgent care clinics are convenient and affordable.

An urgent care is a place to go when your doctor's office isn't open and you need treatment for minor accidents and illnesses.

An urgent care won't replace your primary care physician. Your family doctor is responsible for your medical history and treatment of any chronic conditions.

For more, see Emergency Room and Where to Receive Care?