Health
How to Decide Whether ER or Urgent Care Is Appropriate
By |
Jon Michael Cuba, M.D.
Regional Medical Director, TEAMHealth, Ochsner Medical Center Baton Rouge – (225) 752-2470
17000 Medical Center Dr (off I-12 and O’Neal Lane)
It’s 10 pm and your spouse is complaining of chest pain. If you suspect a heart attack or stroke, (see warning signs below), immediately call 9-1-1. Do NOT attempt to drive yourself or a loved one to get care. But if you aren’t sure what to do, it’s a tough decision. Do you call your doctor? Do you call 911? How about the after-hours urgent care center down the road? Or should you just head to the closest emergency room?
Emergency Rooms:
• Treat severe and life-threatening conditions
• Hospital emergency rooms have specially trained doctors, paramedics, nurses, and other support staff that can recognize, diagnose and make recommendations on a wide variety of medical issues
• Emergency rooms are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Urgent Care Centers:
• Focus on diagnosing and treating conditions that aren’t life-threatening yet they need to be taken care of right away
• Offer quality care on a walk-in basis
• Have extended evening and weekend hours
• Typically provide more complex services than a doctor’s office
Emergency care is ideal for treating
conditions such as:
– Chest pain
– A head injury
– Sudden, severe headache
– Stroke
– Coughing or vomiting blood
– Deep cuts or bleeding that won’t stop
– Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
– Numbness in the face, arm, or leg
– Seizures
– Severe abdominal pain
– Severe burns
– Sudden blurred vision
– Sudden dizziness, weakness, or loss of coordination or balance
Urgent care clinics are ideal for treating conditions such as:
– Cold or flu symptoms
– Earache
– Fevers
– Foreign object in eye or nose
– Migraines
– Minor burns or bruises
– Minor Fracture
– Rash, poison ivy, allergic reaction
– Minor injuries – scrapes or minor cuts
– Sore throat
– Sprain
– Animal bites
Heart Attacks and Strokes
When it comes to heart attacks and strokes, time is critical. If you suspect you or someone else is having a heart attack or stroke, immediately call 9-1-1. Do NOT attempt to drive yourself to the emergency department.
Warning signs of a potential heart attack:
• Pain or pressure in the center of the chest that lasts for minutes or goes away and comes back
• Pain or discomfort in the arms or left shoulder
• Shortness of breath
Women’s symptoms differ from men. Women often report fatigue, sleep disturbances, shortness of breath, indigestion or anxiety for a month or longer before an actual heart attack.
Warning signs of a potential stroke:
• Sudden numbness or weakness on one side or one part of the body
• Sudden trouble seeing or walking
• Sudden and severe headache
It’s important to consider the quality of the care delivered at the ER because conditions are critical. Speed is one measure used by Medicare, and average ER wait times for all local hospitals can be found at www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare.
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