Posted by on Apr 6, 2018 in Urgent Cares | No Comments

Advanced urgent care clinics are a relatively new form of healthcare, one intended to bridge the gap between overcrowded-and-understaffed free clinics and much more expensive primary care facilities.  Understandably enough, being new, this causes people to wonder about the quality of the care they’ll receive from an advanced urgent care center.

Well, first things first:  urgent care providers staff genuine MDs and RNs just like any other medical facility.  Just because the care they provide is inexpensive doesn’t mean that they’re cheap or cutting corners!  Whenever you visit an urgent care facility, you’ll be getting care from fully-qualified, degreed, and licensed doctors – just like at a hospital.

The main difference between an urgent care clinic and a regular doctor’s office or hospital is the range of treatments available.  Urgent care facilities have a shorter “menu” of services, based on the most commonly-needed ailments, in part so that they can keep their costs down.

Here are the basics.

What Advanced Urgent Care in Pasadena Can Do for You

Urgent care is primarily about providing healthcare services when you want them treated quickly, but the conditions are not life-threatening.  If it’s a condition that’s genuinely an emergency – such as heart attacks, strokes, gunshots, etc – then you would definitely want to go to the ER.

However, when the condition is more minor, an urgent care center can take care of you faster and for a lot less money than an ER.  Some of the most common services provided include:

  • Treating colds, the flu, and other basic fever-causing illnesses
  • Providing diabetes management help
  • Basic lab tests
  • STD testing\treatment
  • Setting simple bone fractures (ie, when the bone is not visible)
  • Stitching up minor lacerations (again, when bone isn’t visible)
  • Providing physical exams and workman’s comp exams
  • X-rays
  • Ear, nose, or throat infections
  • UTIs and yeast infections
  • Pap smears and other basic GYN services
  • Abscess draining or cyst removal

Most urgent care clinics also include an on-premises pharmacy as part of their services and can provide prescriptions when needed.  They, of course, also have referral privileges and will let you know if you need to see a specialist or go to a full hospital.

In short, you might think of urgent care as the “fast food” of medical services – quick, inexpensive, and geared to addressing people’s most common needs.  If you have any other questions, contact Advanced Urgent Care for answers!

Disclaimer:

Please note that our Urgent Care Facilities might not be able to treat all conditions similar to those described here and these patients are referred to a local emergency room if a high-level of care is required.

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