11/02/2022
If you have a minor condition – fever, flu symptoms, allergic reactions, minor cuts, bites, broken bones – urgent care centers are a far better choice for time and cost.
If you have an extreme medical condition – stroke, heart attack, severe burns, electrical shock – the resources and services available at hospital emergency rooms make that a far better choice.
Unfortunately, if you are looking for timely data to support either argument, you are out of luck. Nearly all the information on emergency room care is from 2016 or earlier and the data for urgent care centers is by observation from the American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine.
Still, it’s safe to say that if you have a non-life threatening condition, urgent care centers can handle it cheaper and quicker. If it’s life threatening, better you should to go to an emergency room.
Hospital emergency rooms are more expensive than urgent care centers. Patients can save time and money by choosing the right facility.