When you experience a sudden illness or injury, seeking medical intervention as quickly as possible is the first step for you to take.
However, understanding where to seek assistance can sometimes become confusing; do you need primary care, urgent care, or a visit to the emergency room? Knowing the difference between these three types of care, and what kind of healthcare professional resides within each such as doctors, mental health specialists, or those who are studying online RN to nurse practitioner programs, is important to help save both you and the healthcare system’s time, money, and sometimes even people’s lives.
What type of healthcare do you need?
Understanding the type of healthcare you need should start with these simple questions:
- Is the illness/injury severe enough to warrant a visit to the emergency room?
- Could my illness/injury be addressed via an urgent care appointment?
- Would a virtual consultation be sufficient for my illness/injury?
If you cannot answer this, we have broken it down further below.
When to see your primary care doctor
Many times, a visit to your primary care doctor is the most appropriate path to take when seeking medical assistance. A primary care physician is perfect for non-emergency situations such as routine check-up services, preventative care such as vaccinations, minor illnesses like ear infections, obtaining specialist referrals, getting prescription refills, and for the management of ongoing chronic health conditions like diabetes.
The benefits of seeing a single primary care doctor for this are that they likely have had a long-term relationship with you, so they can provide tailored advice or treatment plans, and they have a good understanding of your health history, which is less likely with urgent care or emergency professionals.
Primary care doctors are generally not available in the evenings or on weekends, and do require making an appointment. The cost to see them is generally less than visiting either urgent care or emergency, and health insurance covers most preventative care within the network.
When to visit urgent care
Urgent care facilities are designed for non-life-threatening medical issues that still require prompt medical attention. They are often equipped with X-ray, lab, and other diagnostic services to quickly diagnose and treat minor to moderate health concerns, which cannot be done by a primary care doctor. This might include minor fractures or sprains, moderate cuts or burns, persistent symptoms like a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea, abdominal pain, dehydration, or if any condition is worsening but is not yet an emergency.
Knowing when urgent care is required over emergency care can help individuals skip long wait times while still receiving high-quality care, and help reduce the burden on emergency rooms to free up time for more serious medical conditions. Urgent care facilities are open after hours and on weekends, and no appointment is required. Most health insurance plans offer coverage for urgent care visits, but they will have a higher copay or out-of-pocket expense than a primary care visit.
When to visit the emergency room
Visiting the emergency room should be reserved for major medical emergencies. Emergency rooms are equipped to handle complex trauma and can provide advanced imaging, so if you believe the medical issue occurring could put your life, limb, or body function at risk, it is time to visit. This could include severe bleeding, sudden or severe headaches or abdominal pain, signs of a heart attack such as chest pain or dizziness, signs of a stroke such as facial drooping, weakness in the muscles, or loss of consciousness, severe allergic reactions, and other forms of major trauma or injury.
If you are still unsure whether the condition is severe enough for emergency, it is better to be safe than sorry and attend anyway. Oftentimes, emergency-room level conditions will worsen over time, so delaying care is not recommended.
Emergency rooms are open 24/7, and no appointment is required. Emergency care often includes hospital fees, meaning it has the highest out-of-pocket expenses when compared to primary care or urgent care.
Finding the healthcare you need
Whatever type of healthcare you need, it is a good idea to have the following information at hand to ensure you receive the best care as quickly as possible:
- A list of medications you currently take (both prescription and over-the-counter)
- List of any allergies
- Previous medical history, such as chronic illnesses, surgeries, or procedures you may have had
It is also important to understand where the closest services are to you in case you experience a sudden emergency.
If you require urgent care, you can search via this find a location service.
If you require emergency care, you can search via the findERnow service.