Urgent care versus emergency care

There are differences, and they’re important to know. Urgent care is not a substitute for emergency care. Urgent care facilities are designed to help people with non-life-threatening illnesses or injuries that cannot wait until the next day to be treated, such as:

• Accidents and falls
• Sprains and strains
• Eye irritation and redness
• Vomiting, diarrhea or dehydration

An emergency room or emergency care center is set up to immediately treat conditions that can permanently impair or endanger your life, including:

• Heart attack, stroke, difficulty breathing or chest pain
• Serious head, neck or back injury
• Deep knife cuts or gunshot wounds
• Compound fractures or bone breaks

Here are five things to look for in an urgent care facility

Many people choose an urgent care because it accepts their insurance. But your decision should go beyond that. When researching facilities, look for the features below.

• Accessibility – For many busy, active people, being able to stop in to an urgent care when accidents happen is key. This is particularly helpful after you sprain your ankle rounding the bases during the company softball game. Fortunately, you can schedule an appointment or simply walk in to CRMA Urgent Care.
• Conveniences – We work to maintain efficiencies to minimize wait times. You can check live wait times in the upper right corner of the CRMA home page. And if you are treated Monday through Friday, you can access our onsite lab and radiology services for faster diagnosis and treatment.
• Central location – The last thing you want to do when you’re in pain is travel miles and miles to get relief. Instead, CRMA is close by, with urgent care in Framingham, Marlborough and Natick, Massachusetts.
• Insurance – CRMA Urgent Care accepts many commercial insurance plans, including employer-sponsored and individual plans, and Medicare.
• State-of-the-art equipment – Quality and accuracy are imperative in urgent care. This is precisely why CRMA offers advanced diagnostic imaging. Your health deserves the very latest technology, and we insist on working with it.

Compassionate, comprehensive urgent care in Metrowest

Healthcare should be comfortable and restorative. From quickly and clearly communicating with your primary doctor to providing care at a fraction of the cost of emergency care, CRMA Urgent Care strives to provide a no-hassle patient experience. Whether you need urgent care or need see one of our 75 medical providers across 9 Metrowest communities, the CRMA team is ready to help you be at your healthy best.

To learn more or schedule an appointment, call 508-848-2190 or click here to use our online form.

The post 5 Things to Look for in an Urgent Care appeared first on Charles River Medical Associates.

We want you to be as informed as possible about your medical choices, so we’ve put together a list of common conditions that warrant a trip to an urgent care center (instead of an emergency room). Our urgent care center helps fill a vital gap when you are in need of immediate medical attention when your doctors office is closed..

Urgent care versus the emergency room

The differences between ‘emergency’ and ‘urgent’ care can be confusing because each word implies there is a medical issue that needs rapid attention. Here is an easy way to determine which service is right for you: If your sudden illness or injury is something you would normally address with your primary doctor, then urgent care is likely more appropriate than an emergency room. Emergency rooms should be reserved for the most serious, often life-threatening medical issues. Emergency room services can be very expensive, costing an average of 85 percent or more per visit, as compared to urgent care.

When to go to urgent care center instead of an emergency room

If you find yourself in an urgent situation, but are unsure if you need to visit an emergency room, take a look at the conditions below that are commonly treated at urgent care centers:

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

Visit Charles River Medical Associates Urgent Care when you need prompt, high-quality, compassionate care for your non life-threatening medical problems. We accept patients on a walk-in or scheduled basis. Schedule your urgent care online or call 508-665-4393.

The post When You Should Go To Urgent Care appeared first on Charles River Medical Associates.