Ten Reasons to Visit an Emergency Room Instead of an Urgent Care : Location

First and foremost, you can walk into an emergency room 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. If you are injured or sick after-hours, or on holidays and weekend you can still be treated for your injury or illness at your local ER. If you have non-urgent needs that aren’t life threatening (but do require immediate attention), consider going to your local urgent care center instead. Urgent care centers are cheaper than hospitals; however, they also don’t offer as many services as a hospital ER and they may not be open as late in case of emergency.

Some conditions (like broken bones) will require more attention than what urgent care facilities provide. For example, if you break your arm and need it set, go to a hospital ER where medical professionals will perform x-rays and other tests as well as setting your bone appropriately.

An urgent care facility might just treat your pain with ice or give you a splint so that you can drive yourself home. Be prepared: Get to know which symptoms warrant immediate treatment from an ER vs. ones that could wait until morning when you could go to urgent care instead of having no choice but to stay overnight in a hospital lobby because there isn’t another option available. Similarities between visits: A trip to either type of facility requires insurance information, registration and some basic exams – regardless of whether or not it is deemed serious enough for overnight observation. Additionally, both types of healthcare facilities treat accidents/injuries rather than illnesses – visit whichever type fits your condition best! Emergencies!

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