“My eight-year-old just fell out of a tree and is holding his arm! He appears to be in a lot of pain.”
“I was hiking up Mt. Humphreys and fell, cutting my arm and injuring my left ankle. Can you help me?”
“My husband was working in his shop and cut his finger badly.”
“I am from out of town and have a horrible sore throat and fever!”
“My elderly neighbor says he thinks he has a boil on his back which is really hurting him!”
“There is something in my eye and it is red and painful!”
These are examples of patient scenarios heard by the staff of Troyer Urgent Care on a regular basis. So, exactly what is Urgent Care? According to the American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine (AAUCM), urgent care medicine is defined as the provision of immediate medical service offering outpatient care for the treatment of acute and chronic illness and injury. It is the delivery of ambulatory care in a facility dedicated to the delivery of medical care outside of a hospital emergency department, usually on an unscheduled, walk-in basis.
Urgent Care facilities are primarily used to treat patients who have an illness or injury that requires immediate care but is not serious enough to warrant a visit to the emergency department. In the United States, the initial Urgent Care centers opened in the 1970s. Currently, there are more than 10,000 of these facilities. Many of them have been started by emergency room physicians who have responded to the public need for convenient access to unscheduled care. A lot of the growth of these facilities has been fueled by the significant savings they can provide over the more expensive care in a hospital emergency department. Many insurance companies, managed care organizations and businesses now encourage their customers and employees to utilize the Urgent Care centers.
In order for an Urgent Care facility to be licensed, strict criteria must be met, including scope of services provided, hours of operation, staffing requirements, ability to accept walk-in patients of all ages during all hours of operation, ability to treat a broad spectrum of illness and injuries, ability to perform minor procedures, have on-site diagnostic services to include drawing blood, lab and X-ray. The clinics are usually staffed by physicians, licensed physician assistants or nurse practitioners.
What are the advantages of Urgent Care over the hospital emergency department? For injuries and illnesses that are urgent but not life threatening, it is more efficient and cost effective to use an Urgent Care. The typical wait time to be seen in an Urgent Care setting is usually less than an hour, versus several hours at a hospital emergency department. As mentioned earlier, the provided care costs significantly less than the same level of care in the hospital emergency department.
Urgent Care does not replace your primary care provider. It is just a convenient option when someone’s regular provider is on vacation or cannot offer a timely appointment or when illness or injury happens outside of the regular providers office. For most patients seen in an Urgent Care clinic, the provider can fully care for the presenting problem with only simple office-based laboratory testing to include urinalysis, pregnancy testing, rapid strep assay and X-ray. There are times when the patient will require follow-up with or referral to a specialist, transfer to the hospital Emergency Department if advanced imaging is needed or referral back to the primary care provider. Normally, Urgent Care providers do not engage in the continuing medical care of chronic medical problems.
So, when do you go to the Urgent Care clinic or the hospital emergency department? The following is a list of the types of illness and injuries seen in the Urgent Care setting:
Minor burns, sprains and strains, back pain, medication refills, coughs, colds, sore throats, ear infection, allergic reactions (not life threatening), fever or flu-like symptoms, rash or other skin irritations, mild asthma, sinus infections, bronchitis, pneumonia, animal bites, broken bones, and physical exams to include school athletic, DOT, employment. FBN
By J. Allan Boutwell, MPAS, PA-C
Victoria Addington says
Thank you for reporting that the majority of people seen at urgent care centers have injuries or illnesses that need to be treated right away but are not serious enough to visit the emergency room. I believe this would be a wonderful idea because it can assist with problems like coughing and pink eye. I will absolutely let my friends and family know about this so they will be aware of where to go in similar situations. Thank you for sharing!