Did you know that immediate care centers, sometimes called urgent care facilities, could potentially save $4.4 billion annually in health-care costs, as a 2010 study by the Rand Corporation found that one in five visits to hospital ERs could’ve been treated at an urgent care facility?
Such injuries that an immediate care center could’ve treated were sprains and strains; fractures; upper respiratory illnesses; gastrointestinal conditions like food poisoning; lacerations; and concussions. Basically, immediate care centers exist to treat injuries and illnesses that aren’t or don’t appear to be life-threatening, but also cannot wait until the next for attention. But why go to an immediate care center for these situations?
Logically, a patient should see their primary care physician. However, what if the injury or illness occurs when the office is closed? Or what if the primary care doctor is booked all day? For these times, immediate care centers provide easy access to quality healthcare. They ensure that patients can get the best medical expertise during the day, the night, the weekend, and even most holidays.
All this being said, immediate care centers aren’t substitutions for emergency rooms. If you’ve sustained a condition that could permanently impair or endanger your life, you’re in the midst of an emergency. Some examples of medical emergencies are severe chest pains, compound fractures (when the bone protrudes through the skin), seizures or convulsions, fever in newborns, uncontrollable bleeding, moderate to severe burns, poisoning, pregnancy problems, severe abdominal pain, and, of course, knife wounds and gun shot wounds. For conditions of these severity, it’s absolutely imperative to go to an emergency room, and not an immediate care center.
Some examples of urgent care situations are: UTIs, skin rashes/infections, dehydration, vomiting, diarrhea, flu, eye irritation, laceration requiring stitches, breathing difficulties, sprains, strains, accidents, and falls.
This is what an immediate care center exists for. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments. For more information, read this website: doctorsexpressphoenix.com