Urgent care, also known as an urgent care and family clinic , is a specialized category of outpatient walk-in clinic located specifically geared toward the delivery of urgent medical care within a dedicated, medical facility specifically devoted to the service of urgent medical conditions. Many times these clinics are located within large, long-term hospitals and are staffed by members of the ER staff as well as doctors from the various departments of the hospital. Some clinics are completely mobile and can be located in any location within or close to a major metropolitan area. Often times, urgent care is offered on an immediate basis only; other times, they will refer their patients to a primary care physician when possible. The clinics can provide physicians and staff members with a variety of services and diagnostic tests for a variety of medical conditions.
An urgent care clinic can provide a wide range of primary services to patients such as cardiology, oncology, neurology, orthopedics, pulmonary disease, pediatrics, psychology, psychiatry, acute care, emergency medicine, plastic surgery, imaging and laser technology. Doctors in some of their specialties may even specialize in a particular area such as cardiac rehabilitation, adult reconstructive surgery, abdominal surgery, reconstructive ear surgery, pediatric surgical technology, rheumatoid arthritis and gynecological surgery. Many provide more advanced health screening, diagnostic services, and medication. Some offer surgery, radiation oncology, and other more advanced procedures as well.
Most urgent care clinics have a primary care physician who directs patients to the appropriate specialist for their specific condition. The primary care physician usually refers their patients to the appropriate emergency room or burn unit as the situation requires. Emergency rooms and burn units are often overcrowded and understaffed and the limited resources that they have may not allow for the treatment or diagnostic testing of every possible emergency situation that could arise. Some emergency rooms have waiting lists so patients wait up to three hours for an appointment.This website helps you find out more about urgent care clinic.
In contrast, an urgent care clinic can provide the same quality service at a reduced cost since they do not have to build an additional hospital emergency room. A smaller staff is available to provide personalized service to their clients. This includes a primary care physician who directs patients to the correct specialists for their individual needs and can make arrangements for hospitalization if necessary. Often they will refer their patients directly to the appropriate hospital emergency room if they cannot get an appointment with the primary care physician. In addition, the emergency room can provide the patient with more intensive therapy and diagnostic tests such as blood tests, X-rays, CT scans and MRI's. These tests may be more expensive at a hospital emergency room because of their more extensive testing and treatment scope.
Some urgent care clinics have integrated the services of a primary care physician along with an emergency room in order to provide the best possible care to their clients. For example, some provide twenty-four hour access to a primary care physician so if a patient has a serious health issue that requires immediate attention he or she will be able to be seen and get the treatment that they need in the shortest time possible. They may also provide walk in hours, so even if a patient cannot make a trip to the urgent care center he or she will still receive the same high quality of care since the staff is working together already.
However, many urgent care centers have taken the option to offer completely separate emergency services. These emergency services can be found in any one of the departments or even in a dedicated urgent care clinic. Some are dedicated to offering mammograms, neutering, ear cleaning, vaccinations and other similar services. Others will offer vaccinations, acne treatments and more for a number of different chronic conditions. Since the departments are located on the same floor as the emergency room, the clients will have immediate access to quality health care and emergency services without having to take a second chance at finding an emergency room to make an appointment in.If you probably want to get more enlightened on this topic, then click on this related post: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pediatrics .
