Urgent Care versus ERs: Knowing the Difference

In times of a medical crisis, you’re likely to choose an emergency clinic that’s open and close to your home. After all, no one has time to navigate the blocks on their GPS to find the most suitable medical option if their ailing child lies in agony in the backseat.

When it’s time to take action, refrain from stalling and know exactly where you need to go. This means understanding the subtle, but significant differences between urgent care centers and freestanding emergency rooms.

Knowing When and Where to Go

One of the best ways to understand the difference between the two types of medical care units is to know what kind of emergencies each specializes in. This can easily be assessed on the basis of severity.

Freestanding Emergency Rooms

Freestanding emergency rooms can be characterized by the simple fact that they are emergency rooms not attached to a hospital. This definition allows you to identify the blatant limitations of its operations.

Without a strong link to a hospital base, a freestanding ER remains ill-equipped to handle serious emergent situations, which is incidentally what its name suggests. What it does offer, however, is a relatively upscale environment with no crowds generally found at a hospital, and amenities like coffee bars and Wi-Fi-connection for an upgraded experience.

Usually located at suburban locations, close to shopping centers, a freestanding emergency room is a popular choice for patients looking for a routine check-up who are willing to pay the same rates charged by a hospital in order to receive a more luxury treatment.

Urgent Care Centers

If you’re dealing with a bruise, fracture, stitches or require a medical examination for a diagnosis, you can categorize your predicament as a minor condition. This means you should opt for a facility that provides urgent care services without necessarily relying on constant physician supervision.

Urgent care centers are typically considered to be outpatient clinics that are fully equipped with a qualified staff of nurse practitioners, physician assistants and doctors with special emergency training. They are generally open 10 to 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.

While they have the resources to treat a broad range of injuries and illnesses, they are generally not equipped to handle serious life-threatening situations such as head traumas and heart attacks.

In a similar vein, urgent care centers do not charge a facility fee in addition to the physician fee, since that is a general practice found in hospitals that intend to cover overhead costs for equipment and staff to provide services 24/7.

In Summation

Despite the pros and cons of each medical clinic, it’s advisable to do your research and choose one that combines the services of both.

Frontline ER is a Texas-based urgent care center with locations in Dallas and Richmond. With its very own 24-hour emergency room and an expert staff with credentials in emergency training, you can now receive immediate care without sitting through hours as you would at a regular hospital.

For more information, contact them and keep up to date with effective ways to deal with a medical emergency.