You have two options for after-hours medical care: urgent care clinics and the emergency room.
The emergency room is the best location to receive expert care for life-threatening diseases and injuries.
Urgent care is appropriate for other health concerns, as you will likely pay less and wait less.
When sudden injuries or illnesses hit outside of your primary care physician’s normal office hours, you have two options, depending on the severity of your symptoms: visit the emergency room (ER) or the local urgent care clinic.
ERs are designed for emergencies, such as serious bone fractures, chronic chest pain, and uncontrolled bleeding.
Urgent care clinics, on the other hand, provide an alternative to the emergency room and having to wait until your regular care physician’s office opens. You should contact urgent care for non-emergency conditions that nonetheless demand immediate attention. Examples include high fevers, mild to moderate respiratory difficulties, and cuts that may require suturing.
Below, ER physicians provide insight on how to identify when you should attend the ER vs an urgent care facility.
When to visit an ER
You must immediately visit the emergency room for any condition or injury that threatens your life, organs, or senses, such as:
1. Excessive or uncontrolled blood loss
2. Severe head trauma
3. Psychosis
4. Fainting or abrupt, persistent dizziness
5. severe, localized stomach discomfort
6. Sudden numbness or weakness in the body, loss of coordination, or other stroke-related symptoms
7. Sudden vision changes
8. Sudden bewilderment or disorientation
coughing up blood or vomiting blood
10. difficulty breathing
In addition to a fever of 103°F or above, other symptoms include agitation, vomiting, stomach or head ache, and light sensitivity are present.
12. Fever in newborns less than two months
13. Severe burns
14. Severe hypersensitivity
15. Asthma attacks
16. Uncontrollable vomiting or diarrhea
17. Inhaling smoke or toxic gasses
18. Fractures of the skin
19. During pregnancy, copious vaginal bleeding comparable to or worse than a period, severe and prolonged abdominal pain or cramping, fever or chills, or sudden visual changes accompanied by severe headaches.
Dr. Jennifer L. White, Director of Clinical Operations of the Emergency Department at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, recommends trusting your instincts regarding the aforementioned symptoms and diseases.
For instance, if you have bronchitis, which is generally treated at an urgent care clinic, and are experiencing wheezing or shortness of breath, you should immediately visit the emergency room.
“I have treated several young patients who believed they were experiencing a panic attack but were actually experiencing supraventricular tachycardia, a potentially life-threatening irregular heartbeat. What appears to be an insect bite could be a flesh-eating bacteria. Back pain caused by removing a toddler from an automobile may necessitate spine surgery. The ER is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week because it is essential to seek advice when uncertain “White claims.
If you are unsure whether you should visit the emergency room, contact your primary care physician.
When to seek emergency care
Generally, you should visit an urgent care center for non-life-threatening illnesses that require rapid attention.
Prior to visiting urgent care, it is usually worthwhile to call your primary care physician to see if they can accommodate you for an appointment. This is because it is always preferable to obtain continuous care from your primary care physician.
According to Dr. Jay Woody, chief medical officer of Intuitive Health and co-founder of Legacy ER & Urgent Care, the following medical issues may necessitate a visit to a physician but not the ER:
1. Food poisoning – unless there is blood in the vomit or stool, or severe dehydration signs
2. nasal infections
3. Thrush throat
4. Rash, unless it is fast spreading or accompanied by a high temperature, blisters, or bruises.
5. Symptoms of the common cold and influenza, such as a strong sore throat or cough
6. moderate to mild headaches
7. fever above 100.4°F (38°C)
Small sprains and fractures of the toes or fingers
9. Minor burns and cuts, unless there is considerable bleeding or symptoms of infection such as pus-oozing or yellow crusting.
Minor difficulties with the ear, nose, and throat, including pink eye and nosebleeds
Unless you experience symptoms of a kidney infection such as a fever, chills, or upper back and side pain, urinary tract infections.
Bronchitis, unless you have breathing difficulties
Moderate back and joint discomfort
14. otitis media and ocular infections
According to Dr. Jared Sharza, a resident emergency medicine physician at McLaren Macomb Medical Center, if a physician at an urgent care clinic thinks that your symptoms or condition require more extensive treatment, they may send you directly to the nearest emergency department for therapy.
Here are some other factors to consider while deciding between the emergency room and urgent care.
Expect a lengthy wait when attending the ER.
White notes that urgent care clinics are designed to treat a larger patient flow than emergency rooms, so be prepared to wait longer in the ER. In the United States, the average ER wait time is 55.8 minutes.
However, wait times can vary depending on the department’s staffing level and the number of available beds. Your specific risk factors and vital sign assessment results may also be relevant. If your injury poses a life-threatening risk, you will receive care much sooner.
According to White, ER wait times tend to be longest on:
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are work days.
When urgent care clinics close at 7 p.m.
Alternatively, you may receive therapy more rapidly:
Before midday on weekdays
Saturday and Sunday midnight and later
“ERs employ a triage method to determine who may wait and whether tests, imaging, or therapy can begin before the patient is seen,” explains White.
White suggests bringing along comfortable clothing, a book, and a phone charger, as well as identification and insurance information.
An ER visit can be costly.
According to Woody, going to the ER might be significantly more expensive than attending an urgent care center.
With insurance, the average cost of a visit to the emergency department is $1,014, whereas the cost of a visit to an urgent care facility can range from $22 to $261, or roughly 85 percent less.
Therefore, unless you have a potentially life-threatening disease or condition, you may opt to attend an urgent care clinic instead than the emergency room.
EDs have greater access to specialist care resources.
According to Sharza, the majority of emergency rooms are attached to hospitals, thus they often have access to additional resources, such as modern imaging tools and specialists.
For the treatment of complex and nuanced medical issues, allergists, dermatologists, urologists, gastroenterologists, and infectious disease specialists have additional training.
In addition, only a few urgent care centers may offer X-rays, MRIs, CAT scans, and in-house labs, whereas similar treatments are available at all hospitals.
Additionally, emergency rooms have direct access to on-call surgeons, whereas urgent care facilities must transfer patients to hospitals for surgery.
If you have suicidal thoughts, you can contact 911 or go to the nearest emergency room, but the care you receive there may not be optimal during a mental health crisis. Consider instead phoning the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential assistance.
Insider’s takeaway
Visit the local emergency room for any life-threatening or life-impairing condition. Urgent care clinics are an excellent option when you need medical assistance for a non-life-threatening condition but cannot wait to see your regular physician.
Still uncertain as to which choice is preferable? Calling your doctor’s office or a local emergency room for guidance based on your current symptoms is always an option.
However, experts concur that it is always preferable to err on the side of caution. If you are concerned about the severity of your symptoms or the risk they pose to your health, you should visit the nearest emergency room for an evaluation.
Rebecca Strong
Rebecca Strong is a freelance writer located in Boston who writes on health and wellness, food and wine, fitness, and travel. She has also written for Insider’s Health Reference and Kitchen verticals, as well as Healthline, Health magazine, Bustle, StyleCaster, PopSugar, AskMen, and Elite Daily. Her work can be followed on Twitter.
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