There are many and diverse reasons that adult patients seek emergent, life-saving services in an emergency room. And there are symptoms that could be safely managed both by a primary care provider and 'physician extenders' at an urgent care center. For adults, here are a few common symptoms and suggestions for choosing where to seek treatment for those symptoms.
|
Symptoms
|
PCP
|
Urgent Care
|
ER
|
911
|
|
Low back pain
|
|
|||
| Minor aches |
|
|||
| Mild asthma attacks |
|
|
||
|
Sprains or broken bones
|
|
|||
|
Cuts, scrapes, wounds or burns
|
|
|
||
|
Nausea, heartburn, upset stomach
|
|
|
||
| Vomiting, diarrhea or dehydration |
|
|
||
| Frequent or painful urination |
|
|
||
| Allergic reaction or allergies |
|
|
||
| Rash |
|
|
||
| Head injuries |
|
|||
|
Adults–Fever under 104
|
|
|
||
|
Adults–Fever over 104
|
|
|||
|
Uncontrollable bleeding
|
|
|||
| Sneezing, runny nose, sore throat |
|
|
||
| Ear or sinus pain |
|
|
||
| Chest pain, pressure or pounding heart |
|
|||
| Numbness in face, arm, leg |
|
|||
| Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding |
|
|||
| Sudden dizziness, loss of consciousness or balance |
|
|||
| Sudden severe headache |
|
|||
| Difficulty breathing |
|
|||
| Overdose or poisoning |
|
|||
| Vomiting blood |
|
|||
| Management of diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions |
|
Many times, urgent care centers can also provide immunizations, sports and school physicals, and may even offer radiology and laboratory services.
And before visiting any new urgent care clinic, make sure you know if your health insurance coverage extends to them or if you will be paying out of pocket with no reimbursement. Many plans incent urgent care visits as opposed to ER visits because, when appropriate, they're typically less expensive. As Benjamin Franklin said, "Penny wise, pound foolish."