If you need medical assistance should you go to the emergency room of the nearest hospital
, a medical care clinic or should you call your doctor and book an appointment? You need to know what you should do before you require medical intervention. Let us look at that.
There is a difference between having a cough or a sore foot and suffering from severe chest pains. You need to let the symptoms of your health problem help you to determine whether you need the ER or a medical care clinic (known as urgent care centers in some areas). If you believe that your condition is severe or life threatening then you should not go to a clinic but should immediately call 911 or call an ambulance. If someone is there with you when the problem occurs then find your way to the emergency room without delay. Time is of the essence when an emergency medical situation occurs.
The emergency department of a hospital treats people who have health conditions that require immediate attention. If your medical problem is something that must be treated right away then you need help from the medical personnel found working in the emergency department. Here you will find help for many different types of problems from heart attacks to strokes to deep cuts to serious head injuries. Pressing injuries, even if they are relatively simple require help that can only be found at the hospital. Care and treatment is available for patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
For minor medical needs a medical care clinic is your best choice, unless of course you are able to schedule an appointment with your physician that very day. Most clinics offer walk-in services but also provide you with the opportunity to call ahead if you are able to. If you do call ahead then at least you will have an idea how long you will spend in the waiting room.
At this facility there are well-qualified doctors and nurses who will take good care of you and/or your children if they are the ones who are sick. If you have a cold, cough or sore throat that won't go away and you are not able to see your doctor then you need a medical care clinic. If you have a pain that is non-threatening and not debilitating then you should visit an urgent care facility to be looked at. This is the place to go for possible UTI's, ear aches, sprained ankles or wrists, pulled muscles and other types of minor injuries.
At a medical care clinic you will be seen in the order that you registered but in some cases the most serious health problems will be treated first. Patients will be evaluated for non-life threatening and non-severe urgent medical problems that require evaluation on the same day.