Primary care, urgent care or ER? Solving the care destination dilemma

Meal prep for the work week or grab lunch on the go each day? Take a walk after dinner or watch TV on the couch? These kinds of small, daily decisions can have a major effect on your health, for better or worse. When an illness or injury occurs, however, you face a decision that’s just as consequential: where to seek care. Should you go to urgent care or the Emergency Room (ER)? Do you try to see your primary care doctor?

Deciding where to go can be difficult. Let’s take a closer look at each option so you can make the smartest choice.

When your primary care doctor is out

When you need medical care, calling your primary care doctor may be your first instinct, and for good reason. After all, he or she knows your medical history and is best positioned to help you manage any chronic conditions you may have.

In some cases, however, your primary care doctor isn’t the best option. If you have a minor illness or injury, such as flu-like symptoms or an ankle sprain, you may not want to wait for an appointment with your regular physician, especially if it’s after hours or the office is booked for days. Should you go to urgent care or the ER? In these non-life-threatening situations, urgent care is the right choice.

Urgent but not an emergency: choose urgent care instead of the ER

Need quick care for an acute medical problem that’s not life-threatening or serious enough to cause permanent disability? Visiting an urgent care center is the way to go.

Urgent care providers treat a wide range of nonemergency illnesses and injuries in patients of all ages, including:

• Allergic reactions

• Back pain

• Colds

• Ear infections

• Flu

• Migraine

• Minor broken bones

• Minor rashes

• Nausea and vomiting

• Pink eye

• Pneumonia

• Sinusitis

• Small cuts and burns

• Sore throat

• Strains and sprains

When you don’t have a major medical condition, going to an urgent care center instead of the emergency room can save you time and money. In the ER, wait times can be long, and you may end up paying for expensive, high-level care you don’t need. Still, too many patients—around 4 in 10, according to the American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine—visit the ER when they don’t need emergency care.

It’s an emergency: when going to the ER is the right choice

Put simply, the ER is for emergencies, not routine or minor acute care. Visiting the ER for nonemergency care isn’t efficient or cost-effective for you. In addition, it diverts caregivers and resources from patients who need them the most.

When is emergency care appropriate? If a symptom or injury endangers life or long-term health, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room as quickly as possible. Reasons to seek care in the ER include:

• Allergic reaction that hinders breathing or swallowing

• Choking

• Fainting

• Electric shock

• Heart attack symptoms, such as chest pain, discomfort in the arm or jaw, lightheadedness, or shortness of breath

• Large wound

• Neck or spine injury

• Poisoning

• Seizures

• Severe pain

• Significant burn

• Stroke symptoms, including sudden difficulty speaking, seeing or moving, or weakness on one side of the body

• Suspected broken bone

• Uncontrolled bleeding

• Uncontrolled vomiting or diarrhea

When a medical emergency occurs, every second counts. Going to the ER instead of an urgent care center saves valuable time—another example of how choosing the right place to seek care can be one of your best decisions.

When life sends a minor illness or injury your way, there’s no need to put everything else on hold to search for medical care. Find a LCMC Health Urgent Care location near you to get the care you need so you can get back to what matters most.