Know where to go: primary care, urgent care or ER

This article was first published in the Courier-Tribune.

No one expects to get sick or injured. But when it happens, people have an immediate choice to make: call your doctor, visit an urgent care or go straight to a hospital emergency department (ER). Which is the best option?

“The choice should be based on urgency,” said Jake Lewis, Liberty Hospital’s director of emergency services. “Calling your primary care provider should be your first choice for non-emergencies. He or she will be most familiar with your health history, chronic illnesses and medications.”

Urgent care is a good choice when your injury or illness isn’t life-threatening but requires immediate attention or an x-ray. Urgent care centers offer extended hours and walk-in appointments. They are good choices for minor burns, stitches or allergic reactions, minor broken bones, abdominal pain, sprains, persistent vomiting and diarrhea, and symptoms of flu such as cough, sore throat, wheezing and fever.

Urgent care should be a supplement to your regular healthcare, but never a replacement.

When comparing wait times, you’ll often spend less time in urgent care than at a hospital emergency department. However, Lewis advises, if you’re questioning choosing urgent care or emergency services, head to the ER.

The ER specializes in life-threatening symptoms and situations, such as head injury, electric shock, sudden numbness or loss of feeling, trouble breathing, chest pain, loss of consciousness, broken bones, deep wounds, severe bleeding or severe burns. When you dial 9-1-1, you will be taken to a hospital emergency department.

“You definitely want to call 9-1-1 for stroke, heart attack and trauma when every second without emergency care counts,” Lewis explains.

Hospital ERs use a triage system which enables the sickest patients to receive attention and care first. The less urgent your illness, the longer you will wait, so choosing the right level of care – primary urgent care and the ER – can save time.

Liberty Hospital is designated as a Level II Time Critical Diagnosis hospital by the state of Missouri for stroke, STEMI (heart) and trauma.