MEDICAL EMERGENCY vs URGENT CARE: WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE

MEDICAL EMERGENCY

      A sudden onset of a condition with acute symptoms requiring immediate medical care and includes such conditions as heart attacks, cardiovascular accidents, poisonings, loss of consciousness or respiration, convulsions or other such acute medical conditions.

      The sudden, unexpected onset, due to illness or injury, of a medical condition that is expected to result in either a threat to life or to an organ, or a body part not returning to full function.

      A medical emergency is an injury or illness that poses an immediate threat to a person's health or life which requires help from a doctor or hospital. The doctor's specialization of emergency medicine includes techniques for effective handling of medical emergencies and resuscitation of patients.

Recognizing What Is, and What Is Not an Emergency

      If the emergency is life threatening, call 911. This is a free call from any phone, including pay phones.  Even non-activated cell phones, provided they have power, can be used to reach 911.

      If the emergency is not life threatening, do not call 911. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Could the victim's condition worsen and become life-threatening on the way to the hospital?
• Could moving the victim need the skills or equipment of paramedics or emergency medical technicians?
• Would distance or traffic conditions cause a delay in getting the victim to the hospital?

      If you suspect a spinal injury, do not move the victim. Call 911 and wait for help to arrive. You may be asked to administer CPR or the Heimlich Maneuver in cases of stopped breathing or choking.

 The American Collegeof College of Emergency Physicians offers the following list of warning signs that indicate a medical emergency:

      Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath

      Chest or upper abdominal pain or pressure

      Fainting, sudden dizziness, weakness

      Changes in vision

      Confusion or changes in mental status

      Any sudden or severe pain

      Uncontrolled bleeding

      Severe or persistent vomiting or diarrhea

      Coughing or vomiting blood

      Suicidal feelings

      Difficulty speaking

      Shortness of breath

      Unusual abdominal pain

URGENT CARE

Definition of Urgent Care: Urgent care is defined as the delivery of ambulatory medical care outside of a hospital emergency department on a walk-in basis without a scheduled appointment.

Scope of Urgent Care: Urgent care centers treat many problems that can be seen in a primary care physician's office, but urgent care centers offer some services that are generally not available in primary care physician offices, for example: X-Ray facilities allow for treatment of minor fractures and foreign bodies, such as nail gun injuries. Minor trauma rooms facilitate repair of minor and moderate-severity lacerations can be treated in an urgent care center.

Value of Urgent Care: Urgent care centers provide significant savings to patients and insurers over the alternative of hospital emergency departments for episodic care that can not be delayed until an appointment at a physician office is available.

Convenience of Urgent Care: According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), patient visits to hospital emergency departments currently average 3.2 hours (emergency department overcrowding). Many of the problems currently treated in hospital emergency departments, however, can receive timely treatment in less than one hour in an urgent care center.

Urgent Care Hours: Most urgent care centers offer extended hours in evenings and on weekends for patients to receive treatment when their personal physician is not available.

Appropriateness: The CDC has reported that approximately 40% of visits to hospital emergency departments are for non-urgent or semi-urgent problems (many ED visits more appropriate to urgent care). These problems aggravate the overcrowded emergency departments of the country, and many would be better treated in an urgent care center.