Urgent Care Center Or Your Doctor's Clinic: Which Is Best?

Both urgent care centers and medical clinics provide patients with medical care. It can get confusing when you have so many treatment options for your medical condition. You may not know if you should go to the urgent center or to your doctor's office. Thankfully, you can be treated at either place, but knowing which one is the best to go to for your condition can save you a lot of time. The following are some things you need to know about urgent care centers, your doctor's medical clinic, and which one you should go to based on your needs:

What Is an Urgent Care Center?

An urgent care center is a medical facility you can go to without the need for an appointment. It is a walk-in type of clinic that is open during various hours of the day. These facilities are also often open on weekends. When you arrive, you check in with the office staff and are called back in the order in which you arrived. The wait time can vary, but it is often long if you have many people in front of you. Urgent care centers may or may not accept your insurance information, and you will have to pay in advance of your treatment. An urgent care is not for life-threatening medical conditions. If you are experiencing a life-threatening condition, such as a heart attack, you should go to the nearest hospital emergency room.

What Are the Benefits of a Doctor's Medical Clinic?

If you are in need of primary medical care, you can visit your doctor's medical clinic. There are several benefits to seeing your doctor for your medical condition. Your doctor has your medical history, knows about any chronic conditions you have, and knows which medications you are currently taking. To see your doctor, you have to make an appointment. Depending on how busy your doctor's clinic is, you may have to wait several days or weeks until you can see them.

Which Medical Treatment Is Best?

There are benefits to both urgent care centers and your doctor's clinic. If you have a minor injury or health issue and your doctor cannot see you right away, urgent care is a great option. You also benefit from urgent care centers if your medical issue occurs when your doctor's office is closed on weekends or holidays.

Your doctor's medical clinic is best to go to when your medical condition will require follow-up treatment or ongoing care. In addition, your doctor knows you because you see them on a more regular basis, unlike at an urgent care center when you may see a different practitioner each time you go in. Contact a local medical clinic to learn more.


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