Urgent Care
Written by Michael Barber on Jul 08, 2018
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Key Points
- Urgent care centers serve as a bridge between traditional physicians and emergency rooms, providing extended hours and offering services such as immunizations and x-rays.
- When choosing an urgent care center, consider the type of care you need, the services offered, patient reviews, and whether the center is certified. Practical factors such as insurance acceptance, provider types, operation hours, location, advance booking, specific treatments offered, and sharing of medical records with your primary care provider should also be considered.
- Online search tools like Solv can be used to find an urgent care center that meets your needs, and many centers now offer online check-ins for appointments.
- Urgent care centers are not equipped for certain medical conditions, such as loss of consciousness, labor and birthing, uncontrollable bleeding, heart attack or chest pain, and stroke. These conditions require emergency room care.
- Urgent care is a crucial part of the U.S. healthcare system, providing an alternative for uninsured patients and those needing care outside of regular office hours.
Contents
- What is Urgent Care?
- How to Choose an Urgent Care Center?
- When Should I to Go to an Emergency Room?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Urgent care is often considered the bridge between traditional physiciansand emergency rooms. Most likely, your primary care physician does not offerextended hours. Only 36% of doctors in the United States choose to do so.However, you might need urgent medical care that does not require an emergencyroom. That is what an urgent care center is used for primarily.
Key Points
- Urgent care centers serve as a bridge between traditional physicians and emergency rooms, providing extended hours and offering services such as immunizations and x-rays.
- When choosing an urgent care center, consider the type of care you need, the services offered, patient reviews, and whether the center is certified. Practical factors such as insurance acceptance, provider types, operation hours, location, advance booking, specific treatments offered, and sharing of medical records with your primary care provider should also be considered.
- Online search tools like Solv can be used to find an urgent care center that meets your needs, and many centers now offer online check-ins for appointments.
- Urgent care centers are not equipped for certain medical conditions, such as loss of consciousness, labor and birthing, uncontrollable bleeding, heart attack or chest pain, and stroke. These conditions require emergency room care.
- Urgent care is a crucial part of the U.S. healthcare system, providing an alternative for uninsured patients and those needing care outside of regular office hours.
- What is Urgent Care?
- How to Choose an Urgent Care Center?
- When Should I to Go to an Emergency Room?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Urgent care is often considered the bridge between traditional physiciansand emergency rooms. Most likely, your primary care physician does not offerextended hours. Only 36% of doctors in the United States choose to do so.However, you might need urgent medical care that does not require an emergencyroom. That is what an urgent care center is used for primarily.
What is Urgent Care?
If your regular physician is closed but you do not need emergency care, thenan urgent care center is a good choice. They provide extended hours and, inmost areas of the country, offer convenient locations for patients.
Urgent care centers are also a great choice for people who needimmunizations. From the influenza shot to the bird flu vaccine, urgent carecenters can inform and immunize patients.
While some people go to the ER for broken bones, they can choose urgent carelocations with x-ray machines. It is much less expensive than an ER, and theservice is much faster.
How to Choose an Urgent Care Center?
Urgent care centers are each different and are owned by different parties.While some locations offer x-rays and board certified doctors, others might nothave those options.When you choose a location, you should consider thetype of care you need, the services that are offered at the location, any sortof patient ratings or reviews about the specific center or even whether or notthe location is certified.
A few practical factors to consider whenwhen selecting an urgent care center are as follows:
- Determine whether or not they accept your insurance
- Understand what type of providers work at the urgent care center
- See if their hours of operation work for your schedule
- Find if their location is convenient to you
- Determine if they allow for advance bookings
- Ask if they perform the specific treatment, test or service you are looking for
- Make sure they will share medical records with your primary care provider
You can use the online search tools at Solv and filter capabilities to find an urgent carelocation that meets your needs. Check online to see if they allow onlinecheck-ins for appointments, as many centers now have that service.
When Should I to Go to an Emergency Room?
Knowing when to go to an emergency room is important. Urgent care centersare not equipped for certain medical conditions. Here are examples of care thatshould be received from emergency rooms:
- Loss of Consciousness
- Labor and birthing
- Uncontrollable Bleeding
- Heart Attack or Chest Pain
- Stroke
Urgent care is an important aspect of medical care in the United Statestoday. It offers uninsured patients a choice other than emergency rooms, and itoffers extended hours for people who need care on weekends or after five atnight.
Frequently asked questions
What is the primary function of an urgent care center?
An urgent care center primarily serves as a bridge between traditional physicians and emergency rooms, providing urgent medical care during extended hours when a patient's primary care physician may not be available and the situation does not require an emergency room visit.
What services do urgent care centers typically provide?
Urgent care centers typically provide services like immunizations, and some even have x-ray machines for diagnosing broken bones. They offer extended hours and are usually conveniently located for patients.
How can I choose the right urgent care center for my needs?
When choosing an urgent care center, consider the type of care you need, the services offered at the location, patient ratings or reviews, and whether the location is certified. Practical factors to consider include whether they accept your insurance, the type of providers working there, their hours of operation, location convenience, whether they allow advance bookings, whether they perform the specific treatment you need, and if they will share medical records with your primary care physician.
Can I find and book an appointment with an urgent care center online?
Yes, many urgent care centers allow online check-ins for appointments. You can use online search tools like Solv to find an urgent care location that meets your needs.
When should I choose an emergency room over an urgent care center?
You should go to an emergency room for certain medical conditions that urgent care centers are not equipped to handle. These include loss of consciousness, labor and birthing, uncontrollable bleeding, heart attacks or chest pain, and strokes.
Do urgent care centers accept insurance?
Yes, many urgent care centers do accept insurance. However, it's important to check with the specific center to ensure they accept your insurance before receiving care.
Can urgent care centers perform x-rays?
Yes, some urgent care centers have x-ray machines and can perform x-rays for diagnosing conditions like broken bones.
Do all urgent care centers offer the same services?
No, services can vary between urgent care centers. Some may offer x-rays and have board certified doctors, while others may not. It's important to check what services are offered at a specific location before choosing an urgent care center.
Written by Michael Barber|Jul 08, 2018
Michael is an experienced healthcare marketer, husband and father of three. He hasworked alongside healthcare leaders atJohns Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic, St. Luke's, Baylor Scott and White, HCA, and many more, and currently leads strategic growth at Solv.
LinkedIn- primary care
- emergency care
- healthcare costs
- health insurance
- urgent care
Quality healthcare is just a
click away with the Solv App
Book same-day care for you and your family
Get the FREE App
Find top providers near you
Choose in-person or video visits
Manage visits on-the-go
Get the FREE App
Related Articles
Related Health Concerns
Solv / Blog / Urgent Care / What is Urgent Care? /
