Any illness or injury does not come with a prior notice. You may get high fever overnight or may fall from stairs while carrying some heavy items. These situations tend to get panicky. At this moment it becomes tough to decide whether to visit an emergency room or the downtown urgent care

Both the emergency room and downtown urgent care provide medical assistance. However, the kind of help you will get there may vary. These are different places that serve different patients. So to understand when to visit which place, one must first know the meaning of the three. Properly knowing the details of these three helps in making the right choice as per the medical condition.

Differentiating between ER, urgent care and walk-in clinic:

To first understand the difference between these three, you need to know how emergency and urgency differ. So, an emergency is any situation that puts an immediate threat to your well-being. On the contrary, urgency is a condition where there is a threat to your well-being in the near future. Once you know this, you are capable of analyzing whether you need an emergency room or an urgent care center.

  • Emergency room

Emergency rooms are available all through the day and night. These have all the equipment and staff to handle critical medical situations. Any life-threatening condition requires you to visit the emergency room. For illustrations, head injury, chest pain, serious burns, or similar conditions call for the emergency room.

  • Urgent care center

Urgent care centers are capable of treating non-life threatening conditions. They are providing medical help to those in urgent need. Because not always your condition allows you to take the appointment of your regular doctor. In situations like persistent diarrhea, dehydration, sprains or strains, etc you must consider visiting the urgent care center. 

  • Walk-in clinic

Depending on the severity of the condition, you may visit the walk-in clinic when you are not well. This can be any situation that is causing discomfort but is not that serious. Conditions like rashes without fever, painful urination, sore throat or ear-pain, etc are treatable at walk-in clinics. You will find fast and convenient access to medical care at walk-in clinics.

Final note:

In the end, you will find quality medical guidance at all three places. The main difference lies in the timing and the severity of the health condition. For regular check-ups you may consider walk-in clinics. But for high fever, fractures, or similar conditions you should consider an urgent care center. Similarly, in cases like head injury, serious burns, etc, you need the emergency room. So, now when you are looking for medical help, ensure that you are visiting the right place at the right time.