Urgent Care Clinics are often a great option for seeking immediate medical services. Urgent Care Clinics, similar to an Emergency Room, are there to provide immediate medical attention to patients with no appointment necessary. They are designed for fast and convenient treatment needed by walk-in patients. Whether it's for an injury or an illness, Urgent Care Centers are open 7 days a week with labs and X-ray services on site. Many people don't know when to go to a primary care facility versus an urgent care facility. Still, others are not sure when the situation dictates going to the emergency room instead of an urgent care center. Understanding the unique nuances, differences, and overlaps between these three different services can help you make a more informed decision to get your needs met when a crisis or sickness strikes. So what are the different healthcare services, and do you know where to go when you need it? Here's everything you need to know.

Primary Care Clinics

Everyone needs a primary care clinic, and more importantly, a primary care doctor. A Primary Care Doctor is a doctor who is specifically assigned to you, and someone you see regularly when you have come down with any variety of sickness. They are your main doctor who knows you and is familiar with your medical history. The longer you got to the same doctor, the more medical records they have in order to provid eyou with specialized and unique to you treatment. They are familiar with your medical history thanks to things such as annual exams. They knoe where to send your medicine and what oharmacy you use. They have record of your allergies and previous vaccinations. A Primary Care Clinic is designed around long-term care. They are used for non-emergency treatment needs such as a virus, bacteria, and injury. Because they are familiar with your chronic conditions as well, they are able to provide more specialized care. A Primary Care Clinic is great for longterm needs, but unfortunately not for short term needs that need immediate medical attention. Primary Care Clinics typically operate under conventional office hours, and don't usually take walk-ins. Because of this, they are not always the best option when you are seeking immediate medical attention.

Urgent Care Clinics

Urgent Care clinics are excellent for managing your condition or symptoms as soon as possible. Sure, your primary care doctor may also be able to address your needs when it comes to injuries, colds, flu, infection, allergies, and more, but most of the time you will not be able to see a doctor immediately within the hour or sometimes even within that same day. This is where the strength of urgent care clinics really shines, as they are able to provide medical services outside of typical office hours and to whomever whenever. Doctors at urgent care clinics are available to provide quality intentional care for anything from a basic cold to anything as intense as a fracture, burn, or chest pain that needs immediate medical attention. Doctors at Urgent Care Clinics have all the same capabilities your Primary Care Doctor does, including the ability to write you a prescription for what you need. The only difference is just a pre-existing relationship and access to your previous records. Urgen Care Doctors are fantastic in a pinch when you need medical attentions faster than your primary care can provide. If you living in the Philadephia area, you can look into Urgent Care Philadelphia in order to get your needs met all while receiving the utmost quality of care. A common misconception is that your medical needs must be 'urgent' in order to go to an urgent care clinic. Truly at the end of the day, urgent can also be synonymous for 'convenient' as they are there to give you the convenience of accessibility and availability when you need it.

Emergency Room

The Emergency room is your best options when it comes to anything with severe symptoms. If it's life or limb threatening, you should always go to the ER. Places like Urgent Car Philadelphia are a great middle ground between your primary care doctor and the emergency room. The Emergency Department should be geared towards symptoms that if left unchecked could lead to you being hospitalized. The Emergency Room specializes in symptoms such as chest pain, fractures where the bone protrudes through the skin, head injuries, pneumonia, seizures, severe abdominal pain, shortness of breath, paralysis, or uncontrolled bleeding.