What’s The Difference Between Emergency Care and Urgent Care in Pasadena?
As more people struggle to find ways to pay for healthcare, more Urgent Care clinics are popping up around Pasadena. That’s a very good thing! Urgent Care clinics are the best option for a wide variety of health problems, offering fast response and low prices – unlike emergency rooms at hospitals.
However, Urgent Care can only cover some types of medical situations. There are still times that you need to go to a hospital, for genuine emergencies.
It’s important that Pasadena residents understand the difference between these two types of medical care. So, let’s quickly break down when you want to go to a Pasadena Urgent Care clinic, versus when you need to go to the hospital.
Emergency Care vs Urgent Care: What’s The Difference?
Simply put, urgent care clinics don’t have the facilities to handle genuinely life-threatening emergencies. That’s the major difference. If someone is truly at risk of dying, they still need to go to the hospital.
So, for example, this would include:
- Heart attacks and other severe chest pains
- Strokes and stroke symptoms such as sudden loss of vision or total loss of balance
- Severe difficulty breathing
- Deep burns, down to the muscle or bone
- Serious compound bone fractures, where the bone is visible
- Anaphylaxis – severe allergic reactions affecting breathing or heart rate
- Gunshot wounds
- Stab wounds to the torso or otherwise causing severe bleeding
- Serious head trauma and concussions
- Diabetic shock
However, if the patient is not in truly imminent danger, a Pasadena urgent care clinic can handle almost anything else.
What Services Do Urgent Care Clinics Offer?
The exact services offered by Urgent Care clinics will vary between clinics, but they will generally be able to handle situations like the following:
- Minor burns and cuts
- Cold and flu treatment
- Long-term disease management
- Nosebleeds
- Ear, nose, or throat pain/infections
- Cyst management or draining
- STD and other disease testing
- X-Rays
- OB-GYN services
- Simple bone fractures
- Physical examinations and check-ups
- Minor animal bites
- Gastrointestinal issues like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
- Sprains, strains, and other typical sports injuries
Many urgent care clinics also have pharmacies on-site, which makes them a convenient way to top off your prescriptions. They’re also perfect for people with long-term diseases that need constant medication, such as insulin refills for diabetics.
Advanced Urgent Care of Pasadena
In short, an urgent care clinic should be able to handle just about any medical situation except ones that are truly critical. To learn more, click here to see our full list of services.
