Being sick can really lower the quality of your life. However, trying to decide where to go for medical care can be hectic when you are sick. Some of the options that you will have from which to choose are urgent care, doctor care, and the ER. Here is a short discussion about these three options to help you make your choice the next time you are ill.
The main difference amongst these options is the level of care you are likely to receive. Each one has its own unique attributes that you should understand. It will help you make the right choice.
The ER
An ER such as Frontline ER should only be used to care for life-threatening situations. It is also great for treating conditions where advanced imaging is a requirement. For instance, if you have trauma or experience signs of a stroke or heart attack, you should go to the ER.
Besides heart attacks and stroke, you can also go here if you experience extreme trauma that could lead to loss of limb or organ, broken bones, major head trauma, severe pain in the abdomen, severe attacks of asthma, excessive bleeding, or getting unconscious. The ER will provide you with the care you need to stabilize your situation.
The downside to visiting the ER is the long wait times. At some hospitals, you may have to wait for two hours or more once you get there. Besides that, they will ask you to fill out long and complex forms, which can consume quite a lot of time. At some ER centers, they will allow you to check in online and wait in a queue at home. Once you get close to the front, you can then drive yourself to the ER or have someone do it for you.
You should only go to the ER when you have a major emergency. Otherwise, you may have to wait quite long in line. Besides that, you will only be stretching resources at the ER thin and giving the nurses a hard time.
Urgent Care
When your primary care doctor is not around, urgent care is a great option. For instance, if you get sick after hours or on the weekend, you should go for urgent care. Besides that, they are great for situations where you were not able to make an appointment with your doctor early enough. At these centers, you just need to walk in, and you will be treated. If you have an acute condition that is not life-threatening, just go for urgent care.
If you have a common cold, sore throat, nasal drainage, and ear pain, just check in to one of these facilities. Other situations for which you can go for urgent care are sprains, minor burns, insect bites, dehydration, and migraines. However, if you feel that your situation is serious, you should visit the ER.
While you can visit the ER for a situation that arises during the weekends or after hours, ensure that, you follow up with your primary doctor. It will help him or her to update your records. One of the first steps in getting effective medical attention is having accurate records. This way, it might be easy to catch something early that may be happening to you.
The Doctor
Your primary care doctor treats lifelong conditions that you may have such as diabetes, hypertension, and even minor conditions such as colds. The benefit of using a primary care doctor is that they will have a record of your medical history with them at all times. Thus, if you are allergic to any medication, they will know which alternatives to use. Besides that, if you need a sick visit during working hours, they are usually able to squeeze you into their schedule.
They are able to notice small changes as time goes by since they already established a baseline from years of visits and checkups. In most cases, they can notice even tiny changes before other types of doctors can. They play a crucial role in helping to keep you healthy.
The doctors who offer primary care are quite cost-effective. Having an established primary care doctor is important for any patient. This will help them establish a medical history, which they update often. Not only will they provide you will treatment for chronic illnesses such as diabetes, they will also offer you advice, education, checkup, and the promotion of illness prevention throughout your life.
The primary doctor will treat you for acute illnesses such as diabetes, promote health, and conduct preventive screenings routinely. If you have an acute illness such as minor cuts, vomiting, sprains, burns, insect bites, migraines, and others, they will help. They are also good for chronic situations such as depression, diabetes, hypertension, thyroid disorders and much more.
The health promotion entails educational and nutritional advice, how to use medication, annual checkups and much more. They also often conduct preventive screenings as part of the health promotion.
