Where Should You Go For Medical Treatment?

Posted on: 19 August 2017

If you get hurt or sick, you may not be sure where you should go to get taken care of. That answer isn't always as simple as you think it is. You can choose your primary care physician, an urgent care clinic, or go to the emergency room. You want to make sure that you use the right level of care for whatever is wrong with you. Knowing where to go will make it easier for you to get the appropriate care. So, what kind of injuries or illnesses should go to which place?

Chest Pain

Chest pain is always an emergent situation, even if you don't think it's anything all that important. If your chest is hurting, you should always go to the ER or urgent care facility. If you think that you may be having a heart attack, don't drive, especially if you are alone. You should always call 911 and have an ambulance take you to the emergency room. You want that because if it gets worse and you pass out, the paramedics can get you the care you need immediately. If you are driving and it gets worse, you could end up in an accident and hurt worse.

Flu

If you think that you have the flu because you are having issues with fever, chills, body aches, or vomiting, you want to be able to get in to see someone as soon as possible. You may think that going to the emergency room may be the best idea in this case, but that's not the right place. There are several reasons for that. One is that you may end up having to wait in the ER for a long time since they take the more severe cases first. You may not be able to get into see your PCP as quickly as you like so urgent care is a good choice in this case. At that clinic, you'll be seen quickly and the doctor will be able to treat you. The urgent care clinic won't do followup care, so if they think that you should your doctor in a few days to make sure that you are OK, you will go see your primary care physician instead of the urgent care doctor. 

If you get hurt or fall ill, you want to know where you should go as soon as possible. You want to get the quickest medical treatment that you can. 

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