It’s Saturday, and that tickle you’ve had in your throat for the last few days has become a loud cough. You know you need to get to a doctor, but your primary care physician’s office isn’t open on the weekends. You can’t wait until Monday to see someone, so should you go to an urgent care center or the emergency room?
You might also wonder whether there’s a difference between the two. After all, “emergency” and “urgent” essentially mean the same thing, don’t they? Don’t let the names throw you: While both places help heal the ill and injured, you should not use emergency rooms and urgent cares interchangeably.
When should you seek urgent care, and when is an ER trip more appropriate?
Urgent care: A fill-in for your primary care physician
As Jefferson Health notes, urgent care centers help sick or injured people in place of their regular doctors. Urgent care facilities are great at treating issues such as:
- Allergy symptoms
- Ear infections
- Minor fevers
- Stomach pain
- Cuts, scrapes, and lacerations
Urgent care centers may also offer X-rays and simple lab tests.
Benefits:
Urgent care centers offer convenience, including a chance of shorter wait times than what you’d typically find in an ER. Depending on your insurance coverage, your out-of-pocket expenses may be less at an urgent care center.
Emergency rooms: For life-threatening emergencies
An emergency room is meant to be visited when there’s a life-threatening emergency, according to Independence Blue Cross. A visit to the ER is appropriate if you’re experiencing:
- Broken bones
- Chest pain
- Head injuries
- Deep wounds
- Continuous bleeding
An emergency room is equipped and staffed to handle the many different kinds of life-threatening situations.
Benefits:
An ER can do it all. It’s designed to provide fast, lifesaving care, as Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia notes. Emergency rooms operate continuously. They aren’t closed late at night or on holidays like most urgent care centers.