| While most physicians are able to carry out | | | | institution that provides fellowship and residency |
| routine diagnostic checks of patients and suggest | | | | training is the Urgent Care Association of |
| suitable treatments, there are times when either | | | | America.The basic difference between urgent |
| the unavailability of a physician or the lack of | | | | care centers and physicians? clinics is that the |
| medical infrastructural facilities requires a patient | | | | former do not consider their patients as "long |
| to seek instant care elsewhere. If the problem is | | | | term" records or visitors because almost all of |
| not so serious as to call for immediate | | | | them are walk-in patients whose need is for |
| hospitalization and intensive or advanced medical | | | | immediate care when their regular physicians are |
| supervision, an urgent care clinic can be an | | | | not accessible. The latter have to keep medical |
| effective option. Similar to a hospital but not as | | | | records of their patients because it is possible that |
| comprehensive as to include all forms of | | | | a patient may seek the advice and treatment of |
| treatment, especially during moments requiring | | | | a particular physician for the entire duration of his |
| critical care, an urgent care clinic is able to provide | | | | or her life. This is why the former have "episodic" |
| treatment, especially at times when a physician's | | | | patients while the latter have "established" |
| clinic is closed for the day.An urgent care center | | | | patients. Urgent care is appropriate for injuries of |
| or clinic is also useful when the scope of | | | | a magnitude higher than generally seen in a |
| treatment is outside a physician's normal | | | | primary care physician's office. For the public, |
| procedure. For instance, a physician may not | | | | urgent care acts as an "overflow outlet" when it's |
| possess the required technical equipment to | | | | difficult or almost impossible to get an |
| undertake X-ray procedures or blood tests while | | | | appointment at the local physician's clinic.Urgent |
| an urgent care clinic would be equipped to handle | | | | care is advisable when a person experiences |
| such tasks. Another advantage is that urgent care | | | | chest pain; severe abdominal pain; difficulty in |
| clinics almost always work around the clock, and it | | | | breathing; sudden dizziness; numbness in the face, |
| is a known fact that illnesses often come to the | | | | arm or leg; severe headache; deep cuts; bleeding |
| fore during the night hours. It follows then that | | | | that will not stop; severe burns; and seizures at a |
| the rise in demand for urgent care clinics has | | | | time when a physician is not available. However, |
| subsequently led to a spurt in the need for | | | | many urgent care centers also have Medicare |
| specialized personnel who can man the varied | | | | facilities for minor injuries and illnesses such as |
| duties required in such clinics. Those who opt to | | | | sprains, broken bones, back problems, cuts |
| work in urgent care centers have to be equipped | | | | without profuse bleeding, earaches, severe sore |
| with the attitude and skills to perform jobs | | | | throat or cough, urinary tract infections, etc. |
| efficiently and without loss in time. One such | | | | |