Should You Go to Urgent Care or the Emergency Room?

Though it’s comforting to know emergency rooms and urgent care facilities are there if you need them, you hope you never do. But it’s good to understand their differences, so you can get treated as quickly as possible.

Emergency rooms must take patients with life-threatening illnesses and injuries first. So that means everyone waiting in the ER with a cold, fever or sprain has a longer wait. For faster assistance in Los Angeles County, anyone experiencing a non-life-threatening medical issue should visit PVHC’s urgent care facility instead of the emergency room. Our urgent care center fills a vital gap for people in need of non-life threatening medical attention.

Urgent care or the emergency room?

Here is an easy way to determine whether you should go to the emergency room or an urgent care facility: If you have a medical issue that is not life-threatening, but can’t wait until your doctor is available, then you should visit an urgent care facility. Emergency rooms should be reserved for life-threatening or other severe medical issues.

One important reason it’s important to use the emergency room sparingly is because the services tend to be very expensive. Emergency room visits are approximately 85 percent more per visit than urgent care.

Below is a list of medical issues that can be treated at an urgent care facility:

• Mild abdominal pain
• Cough and cold
• Eye irritation
• Fever
• Flu symptoms
• Mild asthma attacks or other breathing issues
• Migraine
• Minor broken bones
• Sprains and strains
• Sore throat
• Tick bites
• Rash
• Urinary tract infections
• Vomiting, diarrhea, or dehydration

Head to the emergency room for the following medical emergencies:

• Eye injuries
• Head injuries
• Loss of balance/fainting
• Newborn baby with fever
• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing
• Severe abdominal pain
• Deep cuts that require stitches
• Pregnancy-related problems
• Intestinal bleeding
• Large open wound
• Compound fracture (bone protrudes through skin)

Visit our urgent care in Pomona Valley when you need high-quality, compassionate care for any non-life-threatening medical problems that just can’t wait. Schedule your urgent care visit by calling 909-630-7829.