Every day, no matter how hard we try, people get hurt. Whether it’s something as minor as falling off the swing set, to getting into a major car crash, accidents happen all the time. Injuries that occur from accidents typically require immediate attention, and sometimes, it can be hard to decide, should I go to urgent care, or should I go to the emergency room?

Emergency room

Any medical condition that requires rapid or advanced treatment that is only available at a hospital is considered an emergency as should be addressed at the emergency room, according to Scripps.org. Conditions like sudden and/or severe chest pain, heart palpitations, cuts that require stitches, serious burns, or difficulty breathing are some examples of medicals conditions that should be attended to in the emergency room. That being said, approximately 44-65% of all Emergency Room episodes could have been treated at an Urgent Care Clinic instead, according to a private study conducted by Milliman. This problem certainly contributes to the sometimes ridiculously long wait times at the emergency room. Patients that should have went to an Urgent Care facility are clogging up the works.

Urgent Care

Urgent Care facilities offer a wide range of treatments and solutions for many medical conditions that cannot wait to be addressed at a regular doctor’s office by appointment. Some common injuries and illness that can be treated at an Urgent Care clinic include a minor allergic reaction, flu symptoms, pink eye, bronchitis, an ear infection, and many more. More likely than not, when you get injured or come down with an illness, you will be able to be treated at an Urgent Care.

Advantages of Urgent Care

There are many advantages of going to an Urgent Care center instead of going to the ER if you can wait. Urgent Care clinics have very low wait times, and the majority of the clinics have physicians on site. Another advantage of going to an Urgent Care Center is that they are typically open seven days a week. Although the emergency room is open always, there are times that are difficult to get in, when in an Urgent Care clinic, your wait time is short, and you will be seen and treated quickly!

So remember, if you have a minor allergic reaction to a medication you’re taking, or come down with a cold, go to Urgent Care, not the Emergency Room!