When should you choose an Urgent Care Clinic instead of the Emergency Room?

PALMER – On any given day, a medical emergency can happen: You fall and injure your arm and you think it might be broken; you have a nagging cough, it is getting worse and you think might be bronchitis; or your child is complaining of an earache and you think it might be an ear infection.

You call your primary care provider, but they can’t see you for several days. Do you brave the emergency room, or can an urgent care handle these types of medical conditions?

It’s not uncommon to be confused about where to go to receive the best treatment, but when it comes to the emergency room, that option might not always be your best bet. National studies have shown that as high as 57% of emergency room visits, were for non-emergencies. While an emergency room is always the first choice for illnesses and/or injuries that could affect life, limb or eyesight, today’s urgent cares are well equipped for most urgent conditions.

The Urgent Care Association of America (UCAOA) defines urgent care as “healthcare provided on a walk-in, no-appointment basis for acute illness or injury that is not life or limb threatening, and is either beyond the scope or availability of the typical primary care or retail clinic”. Because they focus on minor illnesses and injuries, you can usually be in and out of an urgent care much quicker than an emergency room. The average urgent care visit is around an hour, whereas the average emergency room visits average 4-hours or more. While there are more than 9,000 urgent care centers across the United States, many people struggle with choosing the most appropriate facility, when faced with an illness or injury.

Urgent care centers not only provide treatment for episodic illness and injuries, many provide additional services such as occupational medicine, routine immunizations, and school and sports physicals. An additional benefit of urgent care is most are open beyond the traditional 9-5 hours most medical offices operate and many are open on weekends and holidays.

It is important to emphasize urgent cares do not replace primary care providers; they are a bridge between primary care, when your primary care provider is not available, or the illness or injury needs to be cared for immediately. With today’s advances in technology, many urgent cares throughout the nation are able to share patients’ medical information with primary care providers in their communities, which ensures the chain of care is not broken and patients receive the best care possible.

Hopefully you have a better understanding of your spectrum of options for medical care and in the event you need urgent medical care, you can make an informed decision.

Mat-Su Regional Urgent Care is located at 950 E. Bogard Road, Suite 103 in Wasilla, across the street from Wasilla High School. Its hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week. Mat-Su Urgent Care is located at 209 W. Evergreen Avenue in Palmer. Its hours of operation are Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also schedule your urgent care visit by going to MatSuUrgentCare.com, select a time that works for you, and complete the online check in form.