What Is the Difference between the ER and Urgent Care?

With several different options available for unplanned health care visits, it can sometimes be difficult to determine which type of care clinic will be best suited to treat your specific health conditions. The main difference between going to an urgent care clinic versus an emergency room is the severity of conditions that they are able to treat. Emergency rooms are able to provide treatment to all injuries and illnesses, no matter how severe, whereas urgent care clinics are only able to treat minor injuries and illnesses. Urgent care clinics are unable to provide emergency surgical procedures, and are typically not properly set up to treat life- or limb- threatening conditions. To help you determine what type of medical care would be best suited for treating your specific condition, urgent care clinics are typically recommended for health conditions that should be addressed by a medical professional within the next 12 to 24 hours, whereas the emergency room can handle cases where immediate medical attention is necessary.

Our experienced team of medical professionals here at Family Medicine Healthcare are qualified to treat the following conditions through our urgent care clinic:

– Minor cuts, lacerations, burns, and bruises
– Cold and flu symptoms
– Minor sprains, strains, and fractures
– Minor infections such as UTI’s, STI’s, eye infections, ear infections, etc.
– Rashes
– Mild to moderate asthma
– Dehydration
– Stomach issues including nausea and diarrhea

Our clinic is able to treat a wide variety of minor injuries and illnesses, while also offering primary care, pediatric care, geriatric care, women’s health, and family care to provide high quality care for the entire family.

Emergency rooms are typically open 24/7, meaning that during the day, often during normal work hours, will be the busiest time to go, whereas very early in the morning will often allow for the shortest wait times. Urgent care clinics will often offer similar hours to a primary care physician, with many clinics offering extended hours to accommodate for less flexible schedules. The best time to visit an urgent care clinic is actually midday, since the health conditions that are brought to urgent care require less immediate attention, so many other patients will either visit the clinic before or after work at a time that works better for their schedule, leaving late morning and early afternoon quite a bit more open for those who have the flexibility.

It is always recommended that you check the hours and any other relevant information for the urgent clinic that you choose to visit, as many urgent care clinics will take patients on a walk-in basis, but also offer appointment scheduling for those who have a condition that is able to wait a little bit for care, or online wait-lists so that patients are able to wait for their turn to see the health care provider from the comfort of their own home.

On average, urgent care clinics will provide more convenient, efficient, and affordable health care as they tend to be a bit busier and work on a first-come first-served basis rather than having to stick to a strict triage system. Urgent care clinics are popular as an option for those who require medical attention sooner than their primary care physician is available, but who’s condition does not warrant emergency medical services, effectively reducing the strain that is often placed on the emergency medical services. In the past, the emergency rooms have had insane wait times because so many patients who only required urgent care rather than emergency care were filling the waiting rooms, so splitting up the urgent care patients from emergency care patients allows for both systems to function conveniently, making receiving the care that patients require much more accessible.

If you are looking for healthcare services in Chesapeake VA, we would love to serve you. For more information, contact us or schedule an appointment online. We are conveniently located at 3925 Portsmouth Blvd Chesapeake, VA 23321. We serve patients from Chesapeake VA, Portsmouth VA, Norfolk VA, Suffolk VA, Virginia Beach VA, and Hampton VA.