Every day, many Americans young and old will get hurt or ill, and they are going to need professional medical attention, whether from a nurse of emergency medical physicians or anything in between. The modern American healthcare system is a broad and varied one, and emergency medical physicians in hospitals can save a life while the pharmacists and nurse practitioners in a walk in clinic can provide treatment for more minor health issues. Urgent care clinic are quite common in the 21st century, and a person can find them with a simple online search if necessary. If a victim needs help, a person can look up “urgent care centers near me” or “walk in clinics nearby,” and get the name and address of local clinics. Not all of them are open 24 hours a day, though, so if the victim needs help at an odd time of day, the search should be narrowed down to 24 hour urgent care clinics (such as “24 hour walk in clinic near me”). The same can be done for emergency care, such as “24 hour emergency care centers near me”.
Emergency Care Done Right
Why might someone need the help of emergency medical physicians and doctors at an emergency care clinic or a hospital’s ER? Not all medical cases require the attention of emergency medical physicians, but if a victim’s life is in danger and their injuries are serious, it is time for emergency care. For example, a patient will need to be taken to the hospital if they have suffered a broken arm or leg, or if they have sustained an eyeball or head injury. The same is true for bullet wounds or stab wounds, which may be bleeding heavily and even involve internal organ damage. Chest pain and difficulty breathing also call for emergency aid, since such conditions might turn life-threatening at any time, if they are not already. A recent heart attack or stroke also call for emergency aid, so the patient can be stabilized and recover. But what about abdominal pain? Most abdominal pain cases are harmless, but should that pain be sudden, severe, and /or long lasting, emergency care is the right call. After all, the underlying cause may be quite serious, such as cancer or internal bleeding.
While the emergency medical physicians and doctors at a hospital or emergency care clinics can save a life, a hospital’s ER should not be treated as a universal health care provider. Such services are only meant for severe and life threatening cases, and minor medical cases are best taken care of at walk in clinics or urgent care clinics instead. It is believed that around 40-65% of all ER episodes could have (and probably should have) been handled at a walk in clinic instead. Besides, going to the ER for minor medical issues is very expensive and time consuming, and it takes up space that could be used for a victim who truly needs emergency care.
Convenient Care For You
Meanwhile, “convenient care” describes the services of urgent care centers and walk in clinics, and for good reason. Since the year 2000, over 2,500 urgent care centers have been built across the United States, and all cities and most towns have at least a few of them, and some are open 24 hours a day. They are small, independent medical care providers staffed with nurse practitioners and physicians who can take care of minor medical issues, and such centers are much faster and cheaper to visit than the ER. Often, a patient only needs to wait 15 minutes or so for treatment. Such clinics are usually found in strip malls or in large retailers.
Four in five urgent care centers can offer treatment for bone fractures, and all of them can treat sprained wrists and ankles. Guests at such a clinic can also get stitches and bandages for shallow cuts, as well as lotion and ointment for skin rashes and sunburn. During influenza season, these urgent care centers can provide medicinal relief from the common cold and flu, and all year round, these walk in clinics (especially retail clinics) have fully stocked pharmacies on hand where clinic guests can get prescription drug refills at their convenience.
