Urgent care is defined by the Urgent Care Association of America and in the health industry field as "medically necessary services that are required for an illness or injury that would not result in further disability or death if not treated immediately, but require professional attention and have the potential to develop such a threat if treatment is delayed longer than 24 hours." What, exactly does that mean? Understanding the terminology and wording of urgent care will help individuals understand the difference between regular medical care and attention and emergency care services.
Definition
Basically, what the medical and health industry definition of urgent care means is that an injured or sick person who may suffer from irreversible complications or even death if his injury or illness is not treated in a timely manner is care required immediately or classified as "urgent." So any injury or illness that has the potential to become something more serious, or even deadly, is considered a basis for receiving urgent care.
Urgent Care Providers
Any primary care manager, family doctor, emergency services personnel, hospitals, emergency rooms, nurse practitioners or physician's assistants can provide and perform urgent care on any individual. In many town and cities across the U.S., urgent care centers provide non-emergency care for individuals to seek diagnosis and treatment for conditions such as sprains, illness and steadily rising temperatures.
Urgent Care Services
According to the Urgent Care Association of America, urgent care services often serve as a direct link between the public and emergency or hospital services in the community. In many scenarios, people seek out urgent care services for flu, lacerations, stitches, animal bites and so forth. Urgent care centers are just a step below an emergency room as far as services and capabilities go. Non-emergency care is the best way to define what urgent care facilities can do. However, for scenarios that cannot be handled in most urgent care centers, such as uncontrollable bleeding, treatment for heart attacks and strokes and other dire injuries or illnesses that will require in-depth care, traditional emergency department services are suggested.
Benefits
Wait times for doctor's appointments and even emergency room visits can be long---and expensive. Urgent care services are an option for those who can benefit from shorter wait times and cheaper medical costs. In most cases, urgent care facilities are open nights and weekends, don't require medical insurance (be prepared to pay a deposit for services) and offer immediate treatment. Remember that non-emergency care received in a traditional hospital emergency room may be cost prohibitive.
Choosing a Level of Care
Individuals should determine whether an illness or injury is an emergency before deciding between emergency room or urgent care facilities. An easy way to remember is to quickly assess the situation. If the patient requires advanced medical equipment and technology, surgery or care for uncontrollable bleeding, difficulty breathing or suspected heart attack, take him or her to emergency room. For minor wound care, sprains and mild asthma and allergic reactions, and similar illnesses or injuries, take the patient to urgent care.
Tags: emergency room, urgent care, care centers, care facilities, care services
