Medical technology and services have come a long way as society has developed. From the days of one doctor whose services were spread over an entire village, to the widespread hospitals, urgent care centers, family medical offices and emergency rooms that we have now, quality health care can now be provided to many more people than ever before. But for some the difficulty comes in figuring out which to visit and for what reasons.
Knowing when to choose the right medical care
There is of course plenty to learn, understand and choose between when it comes to health care, whether you are looking at health insurance, health care providers, or deciding where to go for a certain ailment or injury. Generally, your regular medical doctor can take care of most minor issues such as sore throats, fevers, itchy eyes or other allergy symptoms, and less intense aches and pains. However if the fever persists, is extremely high, or develops quite quickly, or if you are otherwise experiencing an issue that needs immediate attention like deep wounds or lacerations, you will want to head to the emergency room or urgent care. Which one of those can depend on how serious it is.
Which should I choose?
In general, a visit to the emergency room is reserved for something extremely severe, that without medical attention there could be dire consequences, as serious as being fatal. Urgent care could be considered similar, but perhaps not quite to the same extreme. Immediate attention may be necessary but there might not be the same serious level of concern or danger. In some cases, there is very little difference between the emergency room and an urgent care center. In fact there are some places that have started combining the services for the ease and convenience of visiting patients.
Getting the proper care promptly
Taking care of one’s health is the most important. If you do not have your health it becomes too difficult to focus on the other important things in life. Regular doctor visits are key in keeping yourself in good health and maintaining any conditions that you may have. But it is also important to know where the emergency centers are in your area, and in the areas that you visit when you are away from home. It may not seem important during everyday life, but when something happens you will be glad that you took that small amount of time to find out. There are about 110 million visits to the emergency room each and every year. Unfortunately the need for these types of centers is quite high.
Fortunately, there are more opportunities for care, and the combination of urgent care centers and emergency rooms have a wider range of services to reach more people. About 97% of these centers have been operating seven days a week, and 99% of them are typically open for a minimum of four hours each day. Clinics typically have an average of seven treatment or exam rooms, and about 60% of them have relatively short waiting times to see the doctor or a nurse, at an average of about 15 minutes. And about 65% of these centers always have a physician on site.
Taking care of your health is crucial. And part of that care is being prepared for any situation, and knowing where your emergency care centers are.
