Urgent Care: Know the Benefits of This Option

If you are worried about your health but are not prepared to spend lots of money at the hospital, you should consider heading to urgent care. This is considered a compromise between the emergency room and the doctor's office, and there are many benefits. Of course, there are also some events that call for faster medical attention than you will receive here, so consider how you know when it is time to use this option.

If you are heading home from work in the late afternoon or evening, and you do not feel well, it may be time to check out urgent care. This is because it is too late for a doctor at that point, as most offices only stay open until the late afternoon. Even if the office is still open when you come home from work, it is unlikely that you can get an appointment that day, as you typically have to call early in the morning for a same-day appointment. However, not feeling well is not usually a good reason to go to the hospital, either, as you may end up waiting for several hours and then paying lots of money only to find out the issue is minor. Of course, you do not want to spend the entire night in pain until you can see your physician the next day, which is why urgent care is often a perfect solution.

In most cases, the problem is minor enough that medicine will fix it, at least until you can get it treated at your regular doctor. Until then, you may be able to get pain medication so that you can work or at least sleep until your next appointment. For example, if you have a sudden shooting pain in your mouth and would like to get an idea of the cause, you should go to such a medical center. If it turns out to be a tooth problem, the practitioners on staff might not be able to fix it since they are not dentists, but they can give you pain medication and a general idea of the issue. They can then tell you which practitioner to call, such as a dentist or oral surgeon. They may even give you a referral slip so you can go to a particular practitioner that they recommend.

In some cases, though, the doctors at urgent care can treat your illness rather than just diagnosing it and prescribing pain relievers. For instance, if you have an infection, they can usually give you antibiotics to clear it up. They will probably then advise you to either return when you are done with the medication, or go to your regular physician to make sure it has cleared up.

Now that you know what urgent care can do in general, you may know whether you should head there, the hospital, or your regular physician. This way, you will not have to be in discomfort for long, no matter your condition, as you should know exactly where to go for help.