As hospital emergency rooms continue to see people who aren’t really in need of emergency treatment, the need for more Union City urgent care facilities gains popularity. Urgent care medicine (UCM) is offered many different facilities managed by U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group, and others, as a means to provide quality healthcare and services for non-life-threatening conditions. However, many do not understand why and when it is a good alternative to the emergency room (ER).
According to the American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine, UCM can be an alternative to your primary care physician if the latter is unavailable to look at your urgent—but not life threatening—condition. UCM facilities are inherently more convenient than emergency rooms, too. Not only do you get attended to more quickly, the costs are usually much lower than those found at an ER. AAUCM describes the proficiency and scope of urgent care practitioners:
“Because urgent care practitioners are on the “front lines” of medicine, they need to be proficient in evaluating and caring for – at least initially – any patient who walks into an urgent care medicine center or urgent care clinic. For this reason, there is some overlap in the scope of practice between UCM and all existing medical specialties that involve direct patient care. Because of the convenience of UCM centers, patients choose these facilities when they are unable to see their usual doctor in a timely fashion or choose not to go to a hospital emergency department.”
To a person with an alarming medical condition or injury, it may not matter which doctor helps him as long as there is someone who does. However, it is actually more practical to decide between an ER and a UCM facility based on the severity of the condition. Making the right choice can save a significant amount of time, money and effort for all involved in a medical emergency.
There are many walk-in clinics in Union City, CA, and knowing where they are located can help you in time of need.
(From: What is Urgent Care?, American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine)
U.S. HealthWorks Union City 