An urgent care clinic is a specific form of medical facility, where you can find a range of medical services for illness and accident injury. However, not everyone is familiar with them, and don’t know what to expect, or how to decide whether to seek medical attention from their regular doctor, the emergency room or the urgent care clinic for an accident injury.

If you have an illness or accident injury, here is what you can expect to find at your urgent care clinic.

What is urgent care?

Urgent care clinics are intended for an illness or accident injury that is not life-threatening, but cannot wait overnight or until a primary care doctor is available. For example, strep throat or ear infections, dehydration, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, skin infections, allergic reactions to medication and non life-threating injuries.

The American Association of Urgent Care Medicine defines urgent care as “the provision of immediate medical service offering outpatient care for the treatment of acute and chronic illness and accident injury.” The AAUCM explains that urgent care does not replace either the emergency room, nor your primary care giver — your family doctor. The urgent care clinic is useful outside of regular office hours, or when your primary caregiver is away from their clinic.

How to choose the right type of care

It makes no sense to use a baseball bat to swat a fly. Treatment at a hospital’s emergency room (ER) can be very expensive, so they’re best reserved for truly life-threatening emergencies.

Choose the emergency room for severe situations:

• compound fractures, especially where bone is exposed
• convulsions or seizures
• gunshot wounds or deep knife wounds
• uncontrollable bleeding
• moderate to severe (second to third-degree) burns
• poisoning
• severe abdominal pain
• signs of heart attack or stroke
• serious head, back or neck injuries
• problems related to pregnancy

Is urgent care right for your accident injury?

These are for a medical issue that may not be an accident injury, but still needs treatment in less than 24 hours. Some examples include:

• falls
• cuts that require stitches to stop bleeding
• mild to moderate asthma or other breathing problems
• eye infections or irritation
• flu or fever
• severe sore throat or cough
• skin rashes and infections
• urinary tract infections
• vomiting, diarrhea or dehydration

What you can expect

No appointment is necessary — just walk in and explain your problem to the receptionist, and you’ll be assessed quickly for appropriate medical attention.

You can also expect to fill in a number of forms, so that the urgent care clinic staff have the information they need to assess and treat you appropriately. You’ll be asked questions about your current health issue, when it began, what it affects and how severe it is.

You’ll also be asked about your medical history — infections, long-term conditions, childhood illnesses and injuries, allergies and so on. This is critical to ensure you don’t get prescribed a medication you’re allergic to, or that may cause unforeseen side effects. You can also expect lower costs than in any emergency room.

What to bring

• a list of all medications you are currently taking
• a list of medications that you need but don’t have
• notes about symptoms and changes in your condition
• a list of doctors and medical facilities you have been to before, including your primary care doctor or family doctor
• a family member or trusted friend
• questions to ask
• health insurance form or card.

Before you leave

Ask the treating physician or the receptionist about any medication or treatment prescribed. Make sure you, or the person who came with you, understands how to take them.

Ask about any needed follow-up visits, treatments or tests. Make sure you get the place, date and time in writing.

Ask about referrals and information sent to your primary care doctor or specialists.

Knowledge is health

One of parents’ biggest concerns is the health of their children. So it's natural that many parents struggle with whether they should look after their children at home or take them into an urgent care clinic when they become sick or injured. The decision about whether to visit an urgent care clinic often comes down to the severity of the particular situation.

Children don’t usually become seriously ill without warning. Kids are resilient and often bounce back from illnesses, infections and injuries quickly. Yet parents know their children best, and they know when there is something seriously wrong. Parents are very capable of dealing with the most common minor infections and injuries their children suffer. Parents can usually manage minor scrapes and cuts, bruises and even colds and flus based on their knowledge, a little common sense and a lot of tender loving care. But parents need to know when they should seek the attention of an emergency room or urgent care clinic.

The rule of thumb is this: When a child has suffered an injury or illness that you think might threaten his or her long-term health or lead to permanent harm, it’s time to seek urgent care.

What is an emergency?

You need to take your child to an emergency room or an urgent care clinic immediately for any of these situations:

• unconsciousness or unresponsiveness when spoken to
• any loss of consciousness after a head injury, especially if it is accompanied by vomiting, disorientation, confusion or increasing pain
• seizures, usually shown by rapid, rhythmic jerking or stiffness
• trouble breathing
• skin or lips that look blue, gray or purple
• high fever with neck stiffness
• pain that is persistent and severe or increasing
• cuts to the head, abdomen or chest, or that are deep or large elsewhere on the body with extensive bleeding
• bleeding that does not stop after applying pressure
• a large burn, or a burn to the groin, face, feet, hands or chest
• severe hand injuries, which can lead to permanent disability if untreated

Other situations requiring an urgent care clinic

Although it is rare for children to develop a severe illness without any warning signs, there are some symptoms that should alert parents to take their child to urgent care:

• ear infections, sinus infections, pneumonia or bacterial bronchitis with a fever over 101 degrees for more than five days
• wheezing with trouble breathing
• rapid and labored breathing
• extreme lethargy or uncharacteristic tiredness
• any eye injuries
• seeing bright, dark or cloudy areas
• persistent chest pain
• repeated vomiting
• paralysis or weakness
• testicular swelling or pain
• change in skin tone
• not drinking or passing urine, which can be signs of dehydration
• persistent dizziness
• flu symptoms that improve but then return with fever and a cough

Sports injuries

One of the most dangerous remedies to sports injuries is the phrase "walk it off." Parents of children who participate in high-energy sports such as soccer, hockey, football, track and even baseball need to be aware of common injuries that require a trip to urgent care.

A similar phrase is “no pain, no gain.” This is a myth, and it is especially dangerous for children. Head injuries are common in many sports, and parents as well as health care professionals now understand how hazardous they can be.

After a sports injury, watch for these symptoms:

• head pain, dizziness or light-headedness, which can be signs of a concussion
• limping or pain when putting weight on one foot, which can indicate a sprain
• difficulty standing, sitting or moving normally
• tingling, numbness or weakness in limbs, fingers or toes
• sharp pain during physical activity
• difficulty sleeping after activity, which can be another sign of concussion.

With any of these symptoms, take your child to an urgent care clinic.

When in doubt, err on the side of caution

Kids do recover quickly, but if you have any doubt or questions about the seriousness of an illness or injury, don’t hesitate to seek the services of an urgent care clinic in West Valley Utah. Contact FirstMed Urgent Care Clinic for more information.

It’s late on a weekend night. The stores and the doctor’s office are long closed, then someone you love cuts themselves deeply, or trips and sprains their ankle. Or perhaps your baby gets a sudden, high fever. They need medical care — but do they need to go to the local hospital emergency room, with its long wait times, or the urgentcare clinic?

Knowing what urgent care is and what its strengths are will help you make that crucial decision between urgent care and emergency medical care. When the health of you or your family is at stake, understanding the differences in facility care types is critical.

What is urgent care?

Urgent care is another term for urgent care. It’s a place where you can get immediate medical attention for an illness or injury when your family physician’s office is closed, during weekends, evenings and holidays.

Hospital emergency rooms are often crowded with people who do not need the full range of health and emergency resources available there. urgent care is the right choice when you or someone you know needs immediate medical attention for an issue that is serious, but not life-threatening. Turning to urgent care allows the emergency room to devote its resources to the people who need them most.

Many people feel confused by the difference between emergency care and urgent care. Both refer to issues that need attention quickly. But there are clear distinctions between the two.

Hospital emergency rooms are set up and staffed for the most complex and critical situations, including life-threatening situations like trauma from a car accident, heart attack or stroke.

Urgent care clinics or urgent care clinics are for illnesses or injuries you would normally take to your primary health care provider, when they’re available. These include:

• -injuries from falls;
• -minor bone fractures, such as in fingers or toes;
• -cuts that are not bleeding heavily, but still require stitches to close;
• -sprains and strains;
• -fever or flu;
• -infections;
• -vomiting, diarrhea or dehydration;
• -eye irritation;
• -mild breathing difficulties, such as caused by asthma;
• -severe sore throat or cough;
• -skin rashes, and;
• -urinary tract infections.

When to go to the hospital emergency department

Although an urgent care facility can handle some of the following, hospital emergency rooms are well-equipped to treat:

• -symptoms of heart attack, which are chest pain that lasts longer than two minutes accompanied by difficulty breathing;
• -symptoms of stroke, which are loss of vision, sudden numbness, muscle weakness, slurred speech or confusion;
• -serious head injury;
• -compound bone fractures — where the bone protrudes through the skin;
• -moderate to serious burns;
• -heavy, uncontrollable bleeding;
• -fevers in newborns under three months old;
• -poisoning;
• -severe abdominal pain;
• -difficulty breathing, and;
• -suicidal feelings.

Urgent care clinics can set smaller bones, such as fingers and toes, stitch deep cuts and provide counselling.

There is one other important difference that impacts nearly everyone, no matter the type of care they are getting, and that's the cost. While averages can vary widely, hospital emergency room services are always much more expensive than urgent care clinics — up to seven times more.

What to bring with you

You can prepare for emergencies, whether they require urgent care or the hospital emergency room by keeping lists of the medical profile of each person in your household. This should include:

• -all allergies and long-term medical conditions;
• -all surgeries and other major medical treatments they’ve had, and;
• -all medications they take, including prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, vitamins and supplements.

Urgent care providers need this information to make the right diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment. Having it ready to go when an urgent health issue arises can save precious seconds, seconds that might make a difference.

We’re here for you

Don't ever forget that FirstMed Urgent Care Clinic is here for you when you need urgent care in West Jordan Utah.

You could need emergency care at work someday. Whether your work environment is an office, a manufacturing plant, a loading dock or even a car, work-related injuries are a real threat. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, private industry employers reported approximately 2.9 million nonfatal work-related injuries in 2015 that required emergency care. That year, as many as 4,386 employers died on the job. That translates to 13 people who never came home from work at the end of every day in the U.S.

The most common work-related injuries are sprains and strains, cuts or punctures, bruises and fractures. The most common causes are related to carrying or moving materials, whether products, tools, or equipment.

The top 10 causes of reported workers’ compensation injuries in the U.S. are:

1. Overexertion – from lifting, pulling, carrying, pushing or throwing things beyond a worker’s ability. These are the most expensive injury to treat, not only terms of emergency care and treatment costs but also in terms of fixing the root cause of the situation in the workplace to avoid work-related injuries.
2. Slips and trips — on wet or slippery floors, or over something lying on the floor.
3. Falling objects – from shelves or other elevated places, or dropped by another person. Trauma to the head, feet and legs are common, but many of these can be prevented with the use of proper personal protective gear, training and situational awareness of employees and supervisors.
4. Walking into objects — such as a wall, door, furniture or equipment, leading to work-related injuries to the head, knee, neck and foot. Reducing these injuries requires situational awareness by employees, which can be improved through training, and also commitment by employers, managers and supervisors to keep the workplace free of hazards.
5. Machine injuries — loose clothing, long hair, shoes and fingers are the most common things to get entangled in moving equipment. Proper installation of machinery and safety guards, as well as thorough worker training are essential to prevent work-related injuries.
6. Vehicle accidents — these happen to employees who drive for work. Driver training and employer attention to ensuring work drivers adhere to driving laws and policies have been proven to reduce the incidence of accidents.
7. Repetitive motion injuries — these include carpal tunnel syndrome, wrist and hand injuries, and eye problems that result from doing the same activity for extended periods every day. Although these are chronic problems, they can lead to injuries requiring emergency care. Reducing repetitive-motion injuries requires good training of workers so they know how to avoid the motions and change the habits that lead to repetitive motion injuries. They must take proper breaks and use ergonomic equipment.
8. Electrical shocks and burns — from hot equipment as well as chemicals. Again, training and rigorous safety procedures in the workplace are essential to avoiding injuries that require emergency care.
9. Falls from elevated positions — such as a roof, stairs or a ladder are common causes of emergency-care visits. Employers can prevent these situations with proper protective equipment, worker training and employee attention to surroundings.
10. Violence at the workplace — annually, employees are injured by violence inflicted by their fellow employees. Many of these incidents require emergency care. In 2015, there were more than 400 homicides in the workplace. Employers can reduce and prevent workplace violence by adopting zero-tolerance-for-violence policies, incorporating violence prevention into workplace health and safety training, and educating workers about their rights in the workplace.

Don’t delay emergency care

With work-related injuries, time is of the essence. Delaying professional treatment of cuts, burns, sprains, breaks, concussions and other injuries can lead to permanent problems. Seek emergency care right away. FirstMed Urgent Care Clinic can help.