3 Conditions That Can Be Treated at Your Local Urgent Care Facility Rather Than a Hospital

 

According to HealthLine.com, there are around 7,400 urgent care clinics around the United States. Finding an urgent care facility near you should not be too difficult. In many instances, as long as you aren’t undergoing anything too severe, a visit to the nearest urgent care clinic is a better option than going into emergency care. But how do you know whether your condition would be better served by a trip to an urgent care facility or an emergency room visit? Here are some circumstances in which you might be better served by a standard or 24 hour urgent care facility.

1. Non-Life Threatening Injury

If you are dealing with an injury that has the potential to be life threatening, you should go to an emergency room right away. On the other hand, if you need walk-in medical care but aren’t under threat of further harm, an urgent care facility should be able to help you. If you have a broken bone that needs to be reset, however, an emergency room might be the better option for you.

2. Chronic Pain

If you find yourself dealing with chronic but non-emergency pain, a trip to the urgent care facility will likely be able to help you with your pain and potentially diagnose the cause. At the very least, they should be able to direct you to where you can obtain further help. When hoping to avoid the high cost of emergency healthcare, urgent care is a much cheaper alternative.

3. Cold, Flu and Bronchitis

These illnesses are non-emergency, and can therefore be easily treated by your nearest urgent care clinics. Many of the best doctors spend time working at these clinics and can help you get over the typical seasonal illnesses that plague us every year. These illnesses are no reason to panic, but it always feels terrible being stuck with a stuffy nose or scratchy throat, so making your way to get some medical attention shouldn’t be stuck with the cost of a hospital visit.

Have you taken a visit to an urgent care clinic when you were feeling under the weather? Would you recommend it over a hospital trip? Let us know in the comments below!