Sometimes injuries and illnesses seem to emerge out of the blue. You may trip and hurt your ankle when going about your business or experience intense abdominal pain in the middle of the night. Your little ones may also spike a fever past doctors’ hours or during the weekend. Such conditions treated at urgent care with a primary care physician.
In such situations, most of us wonder where to seek medical care, particularly when the symptoms seem severe. The answer is not always straightforward, so it’s essential to understand when to visit an emergency room and when an urgent care center is more appropriate.
Urgent healthcare centers offer easily accessible quality healthcare when you can’t reach your primary physician. At In & Out Urgent Care, we leverage our medical expertise to ensure personalized care to patients with urgent health needs.
You can count on affordable, quality care without having to wait in line for hours to see a doctor.
Which Medical Conditions Qualify as Emergency Cases?
Life-threatening conditions such as severe head injury or heart attack require a hospital emergency room (ER) for prompt medical treatment. Generally, any medical emergency conditions that can put your life at risk or cause permanent damage are emergency conditions for urgent care clinics.
You should visit an ER if you or your loved ones experience life-threatening conditions such as:
- Pregnancy-related issues such as vaginal bleeding
- Moderate to severe burns
- Severe abdominal pain
- Compound fractures, where bones penetrate the skin and dislocated joints
- Poisoning
- Homicidal or suicidal feelings
- Heavy and uncontrollable bleeding
- Gunshot wounds or deep knife wounds
- Stroke symptoms, like confusion, weakness, slurred speech, sudden numbness on one side, or vision loss
- Loss of consciousness, seizures, and convulsions
- Fever in a child younger than three months
- Heart attack symptoms, like pro-longed chest pain that exceeds two minutes
- Difficulty breathing or severe chest pain
- Serious back, neck, and head injury
- Eye injury
- Fever accompanied by a rash
Which Medical Conditions Qualify as Urgent?
Urgent medical conditions require medical attention within 24 hours but are not necessarily emergencies. Some common examples are:
- Flu or fever
- Dehydration, diarrhea, or vomiting
- Eye redness and irritation
- Strains and sprains
- Urinary tract infections
- Falls and accidents
- Moderate back issues
- Breathing difficulties, like mild or moderate asthma
- Severe cough or sore throat
- Minor fractures and broken bones in the toes and fingers
- Skin infections and rashes
- Cuts with minimal bleeding that don’t require stitches
What’s the Difference Between an Urgent Health Care Clinic and an ER?
Hospital emergency rooms offer medical care around the clock where injuries treated with utmost care. These departments are well-equipped and well-staffed to manage critical and complex medical needs.
This includes life-threatening issues like strokes and traumatic injuries after an accident.
Urgent care clinics provide walk-in facilities that fill the gap when your illness or injury can’t wait for an appointment with your regular doctor or it’s past their working hours.
Generally, the staff at urgent healthcare clinics includes nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, and physician assistants. These care providers can authorize imaging and lab tests to help with diagnosis and create treatment plans.
Urgent healthcare clinics have short waiting periods and are often more affordable than ERs.
What Conditions Do Urgent Health Care Centers Treat?
Urgent health care falls between the ER and your primary care provider. If the current condition is one, you’d be comfortable letting your primary care doctor handle, an urgent health care clinic is more suitable than an ER.
It’s also an excellent choice if you have an injury or illness without any underlying condition or other symptoms. At In & Out Urgent Care, we treat a wide variety of conditions, including but not limited to:
Wounds and Lacerations
Urgent care providers have the skills and qualifications to treat most cuts and skin wounds. We’ll take care of your injury if you drop something in your toes, cut your finger or hurt your ankle in the workshop.
Our team will administer X-rays to confirm bone fractures, assess any sores or scrapes on your body and stitch up any cuts if necessary. We’ll also prescribe antibiotics to avoid wound infections and give tetanus shots where needed.
Suspected Broken Bones, Strains, and Sprains
Urgent healthcare clinics are ideal for assessing and treating minor injuries. If you have children or like to indulge in DIY projects at home, it’s wise to have our contact information.
If you suspect a broken bone, we’ll perform an X-ray to confirm and determine the best course of treatment. We have qualified staff to set the bone, apply a cast if necessary, or refer you to an ER if the fracture is complex and requires surgery.
Diarrhea or Nausea
When it comes to diarrhea, identifying the cause on time can prevent life-threatening dehydration, especially for sensitive patients like infants and the elderly.
Urgent health care clinics are the best option in such a case since there’s minimal waiting time. The experts will help determine the cause of nausea or diarrhea and recommend treatment options.
If you experience diarrhea or nausea and can’t reach your primary care provider the same day, you should visit our urgent care clinic for assessment and treatment.
Allergies
Anyone with identified anaphylactic reactions to particular triggers, such as bee stings, should always visit the ER or call 911 immediately in case of an incident.
If the ER is too far away, it’s best to walk into an urgent care clinic for medication to relieve the symptoms as you proceed to the ER.
Urgent healthcare clinics can handle most other allergic reactions. If you or your loved one has symptoms of allergic reactions such as itching and skin rash or hives, you should visit our clinic for treatment.
Coughing and Bronchitis
Coughing can indicate various medical issues, including pneumonia and bronchitis. Care providers at an urgent health care clinic have the skills to provide accurate diagnoses and treat coughs in patients of all ages.
You should visit our urgent care clinic if you suffer from chronic bronchitis and experience a worsening cough. However, you should visit the ER if you have severe asthma, worsening symptoms, or breathing challenges. Such symptoms are medical emergencies that require immediate intervention.
Rashes and Insect Bites
Urgent health care clinics provide excellent care for unexplained skin rashes and bumps. The care providers can ascertain the cause of that itchy, painful or flaming rash.
After diagnosis, our care providers will prescribe and administer the correct treatment. We’ll refer you to a qualified dermatologist if the condition requires further assessment.
Flu-like Symptoms and Colds
Sometimes a sinus infection, cold, and flu have similar symptoms. Rather than self-diagnosing the cause of your nasal congestion, fever, or headache, it’s best to walk into our urgent care clinic.
Our care providers will ascertain the symptoms’ cause and recommend the best course of treatment. There’s no need to visit the ER for seasonal allergies, pneumonia, flu, or sinusitis.
Vaginitis
Most women encounter excessive discharge and vaginal itching periodically. Such uncomfortable symptoms should not wait for your next gynecology appointment.
Our urgent health care clinics offer treatment for conditions such as vaginitis. Our care providers will diagnose the reasons for the itching or vaginal discharge and prescribe the best medicine.
Bladder or Urinary Tract Infection
Both men and women can experience painful urination and severe discomfort. Increased urinary pressure and frequency can make the condition worse.
Instead of queuing in the ER, you can walk into our urgent care clinic for treatment. Our care providers will run various tests to determine the type of infection or the cause of your symptoms.
We’ll then prescribe the proper medication and recommend any lifestyle changes that will help relieve your symptoms.
Benefits of Visiting an Urgent Health Care Clinic
There are multiple benefits of visiting an urgent health care clinic rather than an emergency room. One primary advantage is that an urgent care facility has little or no waiting time.
Most clinics open late, on holidays and weekends, and you don’t need to book an appointment to see a doctor. Other outstanding benefits include:
You Don’t Have to Deal With Emergency Room Jams
Most ERs encounter high patient volumes past doctors’ hours and days when most offices remain closed, like during the holidays. More people visit ERs for non-emergency conditions because they can’t access their regular doctors.
More patients result in packed waiting rooms, overstretched resources, and extended waiting times. Urgent health care centers provide an excellent alternative for after-hours care for anyone needing swift care.
Access to a Wide Variety of Services
Urgent healthcare clinics are more versatile than the ER or the standard doctors’ office. These facilities offer care options according to the needs of the individual patient.
Urgent healthcare clinics are well-equipped to handle diverse medical conditions, from minor emergencies to routine checkups.
At In & Out Urgent Care, you can get a prescription, vaccine shots, cold and flu treatment, X-rays, or have your broken bone set and plastered.
Availability of Skilled Physicians
Urgent healthcare facilities work with highly skilled and experienced practitioners. These experts have diverse knowledge in the medical field to properly treat various health conditions.
Most urgent care professionals have experience working in ER environments, standard practices, or both. They can fully treat common health conditions and offer high-quality care during minor emergencies.
More Affordable Services
Generally, urgent health care clinics are more affordable than most emergency rooms, with or without insurance. If you have insurance, the deductibles and copays are less expensive for urgent care services than ER visits.
Faster and Easier Access to Care
Urgent healthcare facilities ensure patients access medical care within the shortest time possible, even after regular hours.
Such clinics eliminate the need to wait for a doctor’s appointment and the extended wait time in the ER. Anyone can walk into an urgent care clinic without an appointment and access fast, quality treatment.
Do Urgent Health Care Centers Offer Laboratory Services?
Most urgent care facilities provide various lab services to ensure accurate diagnosis and proper treatment.
The lab services available at an urgent care facility are similar to those offered by your primary care doctor or the ER. Some examples include:
- Pregnancy tests
- Rapid flu tests and flu tests
- COVID-19 Antibody Tests and COVID-19 Tests
- Urinalysis
- Fecal blood occult
- Strep tests
- Electrolyte testing
- PT / INR tests
- Blood tests such as complete blood counts, comprehensive and basic metabolic panels, and blood glucose
- Drug screenings and tests
- STD tests
Are Preventative Health Services Available at an Urgent Health Care Center?
Urgent health care centers also provide various routine services for all age groups. This includes regular or routine and preventative services such as:
- Well baby clinics
- Gynecologic exams
- Physical examinations for school or sports purposes
- Flu shots and vaccinations
Can Urgent Health Care Centers Administer IV Medication?
Every urgent care clinic’s staff or care providers are medical professionals, either nurse practitioners or doctors. They have the necessary knowledge and skills to administer IV medications and offer the best medical insights into your condition.
Essential Tips about Urgent Health Care Centers
1. Start Your Check-in Online Whenever Possible
Most urgent health care centers allow walk-ins, so an appointment is unnecessary to access medical care. Since no one requires an appointment, the waiting period can vary based on the number of people who arrived before you.
However, it’s essential to note that most urgent healthcare facilities also allow booking appointments. Call the clinic in advance or before you arrive to check whether you can book a particular time slot to avoid waiting.
You can schedule your appointment here as you share some basic information to help us prepare for your visit.
2. Identify the Right Urgent Care Center Based on Your Needs
If you have insurance, selecting an urgent care facility that accepts your plan or provider is a great way to minimize out-of-pocket expenses.
It’s also essential to ensure the facility you select specializes in the care you and your loved ones require. The care providers should be able to communicate with your primary doctor to ensure you get comprehensive care.
It’s also vital to identify the location of the nearest urgent care center to your home. We have several urgent care centers to ensure we bring quality, affordable services close to you and those you care about most.
Our In & Out Urgent Care in Metairie is conveniently located along North Labarre Road. Our center is next to Planet Fitness, right between Airline Drive and Metairie Road.
We have two In & Out Urgent Care centers serving the Northshore. One of the clinics is in Covington/Madisonville, and our newest facility is in Mandeville.
You can count on convenient, affordable, and personalized care at our In & Out Urgent Care Clinic in New Orleans. You’ll find our facility across from Tulane Stadium. We provide quality urgent care services for New Orleans’ uptown neighborhoods, including the Loyola and Tulane communities.
3. Determine the Documents You Need to Take With You
Urgent health care centers need access to detailed records of your medical history like your primary care provider does. Bringing the necessary documents to the urgent care center is the best way to ensure you get the best care and treatment possible.
Ensure you include documents such as the specific names of any medications you’re using an updated health insurance information. You can also note down your vaccination history and any significant medical diagnoses.
It’s also helpful to have the office information and names of your primary care provider or specialists that you see. If the patient is a minor who isn’t your biological relative, it’s best to ensure you have authorization from their parent or guardian.
If it’s your first visit, you may need an ID document to verify your identity. Ensure you plan for any copays and payments when you visit the clinic.
4. Determine the Best Time to Check-in
You can always walk into an urgent health care center during regular operating hours. However, keep in mind that some periods are busier, especially when other doctors’ offices are not open.
More people ahead of you in line means you’ll likely have a longer waiting period. You can call ahead and request to know the estimated waiting time to help you plan for your visit.
Get Timely Relief When You Need It the Most
The next time you or your loved one experiences a stubborn cough or hurt yourself at home, you should visit any of our urgent care centers. We ensure timely, quality care services for all minor emergencies, saving you time, money, and unnecessary hassle.
We take pride in bringing Northshore and Southshore communities affordable care for non-life-threatening conditions. Our clinics in Covington, Mandeville, Metairie, and New Orleans enable us to get your loved one’s convenient walk-in services.
At In & Out Urgent Care centers, walk-ins are always welcome. You can relax, knowing that you have access to the best care providers for your loved ones at any time, as necessary.
It’s time to say no to the extended waiting periods and high deductibles in the ER. If you prefer, schedule an appointment with any of our clinics to ensure you see a care provider when it’s most convenient for you.