Urgent Care and Emergency Care

Many parents mistakenly assume that the emergency room is the only place to take their child when an injury or illness arises. Actually, an emergency room should only be considered when an injury or illness appears life threatening.

Examples of life threatening injuries/symptoms that would warrant an immediate visit to the emergency room include: compound fractures, seizures, major head injuries, severe pains, ingestion of poisons, snake bites, severe burns, chest pains, etc.

As a general rule of thumb, emergency care will usually be warranted anytime:

- something that shouldn’t be in the body enters the body

- the body is unable to maintain what it needs to survive (like blood or oxygen)

- pain becomes so severe that it interferes with normal day to day activities

- a person appears incoherent and not in their usual frame of mind (possible sign of severe heat related injuries or severe head injuries).

Before driving a child to the emergency room or calling an ambulance, parents should ask themselves whether or not their child’s ailments are life threatening. If the answer is no, it would be best to seek medical attention at an urgent care facility, not an emergency room.

If the parent is ever unsure whether or not an injury or illness is life threatening, they are encouraged to seek emergency care until a medical professional can declare the ailment non-life threatening.

An urgent care facility is meant to supplement the services of a primary care facility. When an injury or symptom appears non-life threatening, individuals should attempt to contact their primary care physician for treatment first.

In the event that a primary care physician is not available, an urgent care facility is the next best alternative. Non-life threatening injuries include, but are not limited to: allergic reactions, minor aches and pains, sprains, injuries only requiring stitches, minor fractures, mild fever, sore throat, nausea, superficial cuts and scrapes, etc.

When faced with a non-life threatening ailment, urgent care facilities are traditionally less expensive than emergency room services and generally require much less waiting time before patients are allowed to see a doctor.

In emergency room settings, medical staffs are required to service patients based on the severity of their ailments, not their order of arrival into the emergency room, which is why those with non-life threatening ailments in crowded emergency rooms often spend several hours in a waiting area prior to being seen by a doctor.

Unlike emergency rooms, urgent care facilities let patients make appointments to see doctors, eliminating unnecessary waiting periods and letting patients seek medical care with as little interruption to their daily routines as possible. Since most urgent care facilities operate as independent clinics, each will usually have their own hours of operation and policies as to the acceptance of walk-in patients.

While urgent care is an excellent way to receive treatment for non-life threatening medical issues, children and adults alike must establish and maintain an ongoing relationship with a primary care provider.

Maintaining a doctor/patient relationship with a primary care provider helps maintain continuity of treatment and accuracy of record keeping. Anyone who visits an urgent care facility is reminded to alert their primary care physician of the ailment that triggered the visit and any treatment prescribed by urgent care staff.

Essential Procedures for Practitioners in Emergency, Urgent, and Primary Care Settings: A Clinical Companion
publisher: Springer Publishing Company, published: 2010-10-25
ASIN: 082611878X
EAN: 9780826118783
sales rank: 134546
price: $45.95 (new), $45.00 (used)

“This is a necessary addition to the library of any healthcare provider performing common procedures in the emergency room, urgent care, or primary care setting. This resource has been extensively researched to provide the most up-to-date, evidence-based information. It will be a valuable asset for practitioners performing common procedures.” Score: 100, 5 stars

–Doody’s

“This user-friendly, easy to understand, procedurally focused resource offers the necessary background information, illustrations, and step-by-step instructions for providing safe and efficient treatment to patients in these care settings to not only the novice but to experts in emergent and urgent care.”

K. Sue Hoyt, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, CEN, FAEN, FAANP
St. Mary Medical Center, Long Beach, CA
Elda G. Ramirez, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, FAANP
University of Texas Health Center Houston
(From the Foreword)

This companion is a highly accessible and comprehensive clinical guide to performing procedures in the office, urgent, and emergency care settings. Designed as an easy-to-use reference, it is the only volume to address procedures for all three specialty settings.

This book presents 72 of the most commonly performed procedures used in these settings and organizes them into system-specific categories. Each procedure is presented using a concise format and includes original photos, line drawings, and tables to highlight the written content and provide clear directions regarding exactly how to perform each procedure.

Chapters include:

• Background of the procedure
• Patient preparation
• Treatment options
• Contraindications
• Special considerations
• Procedure preparation, including patient preparation and equipment
• Step-by-step instruction for procedure
• Post procedure considerations
• Education points
• Complications
• Author’s Pearls
• Resources .

Urgent Care Medicine
by: Tanise Edwards
publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional, published: 2002-04-25
ASIN: 0070220689
EAN: 9780070220683
sales rank: 477183
price: $70.24 (new), $69.57 (used)

* More than 15,000 Urgent Care Centers handle on-demand patient care for minor emergency medical needs
* The first book on the market devoted to the needs of clinicians working at Urgent Care Centers
* Covers staffing, patient profiles, interfacility transport, and common procedures
* Highlights Physical Exam, Errors to Avoid, and Key Points of Documentation

Wounds and Lacerations: Emergency Care and Closure (Wounds & Lacerations: Emergency Care & Closure)
by: Alexander T. Trott MD
publisher: Mosby, published: 2005-02-04
ASIN: 032302307X
EAN: 9780323023078
sales rank: 97096
price: $76.48 (new), $82.12 (used)

The revised and updated new edition covers all of the major clinical issues surrounding the care and closure of wounds and lacerations, including basic and complex wound care, anatomy, wound healing, infiltration anesthesia, cleansing, irrigation, choice of suture materials, consultations, and more. It provides clear, concise guidance on everything from the patient’s arrival in the ED to discharge and follow-up care. And, more than 445 detailed illustrations-over 130 new to this edition-depict techniques for wound care and offer step-by-step guidance.

• Uses a structured guideline approach to wound care derived from expert opinion and research.
• Discusses basic wound care knowledge, as well as information on materials, instruments, and techniques.
• Examines the advantages and disadvantages of various technique and instruments, and offers “real-life” solutions to clinical problems in the emergency setting.

• Presents a brand new chapter, Emergency Wound Care: An Overview, that discusses the goals of wound care * patient expectations * and the risks of wound care.
• Covers deep cutaneous and necrotizing infections, infections and laceration repair, and chronic skin ulcerations in a new chapter on Complicated and Chronic Wounds.
• Features all new 2-color artwork, including over 130 new figures, that enhance understanding of techniques.
• Uses an all new 2-color design to highlight key information and make navigation even easier than before.

Should I take my child to the Emergency Room or Urgent Care?
Deciding when to take your child to an urgent care clinic instead of the emergency room can be a confusing choice for parents. In this video, we provide the ABC´s of deciding when to visit the Seattle Children´s Urgent Care Clinic vs. the Emergency Room. The Urgent Care Clinic is not intended for life-threatening emergencies, but is appropriate for minor illnesses and injuries such as sprains, cuts, head injuries without loss of consciousness, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, ear-aches, and mild asthma attacks. Learn more at: seattlechildrens.org

Urgent Care And Emergency Care

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 31st, 2011 at 10:49 AM and is filed under Health issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.