Options when you need health care quickly--ER, urgent care clinic, or other?

[agate]

Like most people here, I've had some unsettling experiences with ERs, and since "urgent care centers" are now in use, I've often wondered if a person having a medical emergency might do better going to one of them, and if so, how to choose? I found this article from Just Care (May 2018) to be quite helpful. For instance, I didn't know about FQHCs (Federally Qualified Health Centers). A link in the article takes you to a map that shows you any FQHCs that are near you.

The article (by Diane Archer) is entitled "When you need health care quickly, should you use a health clinic?"


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[stillstANNding]

I’ve used an Urgent Care near my mom’s for a UTI and another time for bronchitis. I’d go again, if necessary.

Here I went to the only Urgent Care we could find for what turned out to be bronchitis. The doctor saw I was on propranolol and asked how long I had had high blood pressure? I explained that I did not have HBP, just a small mitral valve prolapse. Likewise, she asked about seizures because I am on Tegretol. I explained that it was for trigeminal neuralgia. Yet in the record she wrote that I had high blood pressure and seizures! She diagnosed me as having pneumonia but I had bronchitis.

So, I have mixed experience with Urgent Care.

ANN

[Lazarus]

The urgent care clinics often have as long a wait time as emergency room. But I have found the ones around here to be very competent. On two occasions they called an ambulance to take us to the hospital and we were delivered straight to emergency room with no wait. It felt like we somehow got on the fast track. Once for John and once for me.

[renee]

When I am sick I am very sick but do not go to the local hospital ER. There are two Urgent Care facilities, this is the one affiliated with two of my good docs and if I need hospitalization I ride by ambulance or my van to the GOOD Hospital with bad food and worse roommates. Snort.
I believe I receive better, more thorough care at my urgent care than the ER and the wait is usually shorter.