Benefits of Urgent Care

By Emad Yousef 

Illnesses, accidents and injuries do not wait for working days and doctor appointments. Hospitals and healthcare facilities have created emergency departments to support patients after regular working hours and during holidays. However, patients with both life-threatening and relatively harmless conditions have been visiting the emergency rooms adding to their burden. This has contributed to poor patient care and rising healthcare costs for everyone involved.

Urgent care centers offer an alternative to emergency rooms. More than 9,000 centers have emerged in recent times across small and big US cities, according to the Center for Studying Health System Change.

What do Urgent Care Centers Offer?

These types of centers offer medical care after regular working hours and over the weekends. The walk-in clinic is great for non-life threatening illnesses and injuries such as:

Sprains and fractures
Fever
Vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and related problems.
Cold, cough and other common respiratory tract illnesses.
Infectious diseases
Asthma and breathing difficulties

You can access medical care without an appointment. The wait times are comparatively less. Co-payments are also lower than hospital emergency care facilities.

Care centers treat patients of all ages. Apart from managing non-life threatening conditions, many clinics also offer x-rays and common laboratory tests.

You can also use these walk-in clinics if you do not have insurance or a pre-assigned primary care physician. The facilities are often located in residential areas. Patients also go to urgent care because they are more accessible and convenient.

Most urgent care facilities are staffed with board-certified physicians and pediatricians along with certified nurses and medical assistants. They can help manage non-emergent conditions and prescribe medications as well.

When to Choose Urgent Care?

Many of you may find the choice between urgent care clinics and hospital emergency rooms overwhelming and confusing. You want the best medical care. You also want to save money and time, but you do not know if a walk-in clinic is equipped to handle your case effectively or if it will refer you back to the hospital. The Palo Alto Medical Foundation lists some common conditions which require emergency room help:

Lack of consciousness
Breathing difficulties
Excessive blood loss
Poisoning
Chest pain
Burns
Seizures
Loss of limb
Severe head or back injury

Urgent care centers are efficient and effective and capable of handling most other types of non-serious illnesses. You should, however, make the right judgment and choose a healthcare facility that has the equipment and the staff to handle your case properly.

You can find Dr. Emad Yousef at Doctors Express in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Emad_Yousef

Categories: HEALTH