Urgent Care vs Emergency Room
URGENT CARE facilities, such as Aztec Urgent Care, are typically stand-alone clinics that do not carry the expensive costs of an emergency room. A visit to an urgent care facility for stitches, for example, will generally be a lot less costly to the patient than the same visit to the emergency room. Urgent care facilities assist patients with many conditions that are taken care of by primary care physicians. If patients cannot get into their own doctor or do not have a primary care physician relationship, Urgent Care is a great alternative to fill this patient need. (We recommend that anyone with ongoing health issues that require regular follow-up appointments establish a relationship with a primary care doctor.)
Patients visit Urgent Care because they are visiting and not within reach of their hometown care facilities, become ill when doctors offices aren't open, are unable to get a prompt appointment with their regular physician, or they have a non-threatening illness or injury and want to pay less than an emergency room visit would cost.
Examples of conditions that we commonly evaluate in our urgent care center include:
Colds and flu
Coughs, sore throats and earaches
Vomiting, diarrhea and stomachaches
Dehydration
Minor lacerations and wound care
Minor skin infections and burns
Simple Fractures, sprains and dislocations
Minor eye problems and nose bleeds
Sports Injuries
Asthma and allergies
Headaches and migraines
Urinary tract and gynecologic problems
(Our services are not limited to the above
mentioned list)
*Any accident or illness that may lead to loss of life or limb, serious medical complication or permanent disability should be evaluated in the emergency department of a local hospital.
EMERGENCY ROOM Departments are located within hospitals and are prepared to care for patients suffering true emergencies such as heart attacks, serious motor vehicle accidents, suicide attempts and other life threatening conditions. Located within a hospital, these centers are able to provide access to physicians with specialized training or board certification in emergency medicine. Often in towns where there is no urgent care center, patients with less serious conditions go to the emergency room for care. Although the emergency room staff can see these patients, the sicker patients always take priority, which means that those with minor injuries or illnesses may wait a long time to be seen. Also, because emergency rooms are backed-up by operating theaters, critical care units, and other expensive hospital facilities, they charge facility fees on their bills which can add hundreds of dollars to an emergency room visit.
Examples of conditions that should be evaluated in the Emergency Room include:
- Chest pain
- Severe difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- Sudden dizziness, loss of coordination or balance
- Numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg
- Difficulty speaking
- Sudden blurred vision
- Loss of consciousness
- Severe abdominal pain
- Sudden, severe headache
- Seizures
- Coughing up or vomiting blood
- Severe burns
- Deep cuts or bleeding that won't stop
- Fractures with bone showing
- Overdoses
