Introduction (i)

Urgent Care is the place you need to go to when there is an immediate medical emergency. This is kind of medical service consists of outpatient care (OPD), and patients suffering from medical injury or trauma are most frequent here. Treatment of such cases requires expertise and most of the urgent care facilities consist of emergency physicians, specialists, as well as general physicians and the treatment, is based on their collaboration. However, it must be kept in mind that urgent care in no way can replace primary care. It is an alternative when your primary care physician is not available for any reason. Another reason is like previously mentioned is if you or your loved one has a medical emergency in the odd hours, it is better to rush to an urgent care center rather than waiting in an emergency of a hospital for a long time which can prove to be critical.

Urgent Care Services (ii)

The patient admitted to an urgent care facility, an emergency consultant in collaboration with a related specialist can comprehensively identify and prescribe a course of action for the treatment. Some of the patients require regular follow-ups for a short duration and sometimes are referred to another specialist, hospital emergency, or directly admitted to a hospital depending upon the severity. It is to be noted that urgent care facilities do not offer surgical procedures except closing of a gash, or any other minor procedure. Additionally, they don’t admit inpatients, and the same goes for the continuation of chronic medical issues.

If compared to other medical services, urgent care resembles family medicine and emergency the most. That being said, it has enough features and services of its own such as skills, experience, and knowledge to have its own identity. Urgent care is a family practice with a broader scope and treats patients irrespective of gender, symptoms progression, and complaints. The main difference between the two is that urgent care primarily focuses on acute health issues. In contrast, family medicine is more focused on chronic health issues with little attention to acute problems. Urgent care additionally has a greater focus on Emergency Medicine similar to family practice. The experts and physicians in urgent care centers have trained enough to identify and treat issues using only simple lab reports since the availability of advanced equipment is null. Any patient who requires advance testing that is absent in an urgent care center is referred to a hospital emergency. Due to a limited setup as compared to the hospital, urgent care centers are relatively more cost-friendly. Some of the conditions that require urgent care are:

  • Allergies
  • Nausea/Vomiting
  • Back pain
  • Pneumonia
  • Conjunctivitis (Pinkeye)
  • Rashes
  • Diarrhea
  • Sinusitis and tonsilitus
  • Ear infections
  • Sore throat
  • Fever
  • Sprains/Strains
  • Insect bites
  • Upper Respiratory Infection
  • Lacerations
  • Vaginitis
  • Migraine/Headaches
  • Mononucleosis
  • Wounds/Abscess

Types of Urgent Care Facilities (ii)

Retail Clinics

These facilities treat minor infections or problems such as flu, cold, fever, ear infections, nausea, pink eye, etc. Nurses trained to deal with such symptoms are deployed at these facilities. Walgreens, CVS, and Wal-Marts have these facilities present.

Urgent Care Centers

Compared to retail clinics, these services provide a wider scope of services. The availability of testing facilities such as X-Ray, etc., allows for the treatment of a broader scope of health problems such as fractures, wounds, COPD, and concussions. The physicians have trained supporting staff with them for assistance. On average there are almost 160 urgent care centers per State.

Emergency Rooms

Emergency rooms are laden with advanced equipment that can treat a broader range of problems such as critical injuries suffered during accidents, and cardiac arrest patients. Compared to a hospital emergency, these facilities are small in size and hence are usually crowded. The average waiting time could be somewhere around 3 to 4 hours or even more.

Fast Urgent Care (iii)

A patient is most satisfied when they receive treatment urgently and feel better after the treatment. Even though it could still take time, compared to a hospital emergency department, you have a higher chance of receiving treatment in an urgent care facility. Certain factors should be taken into account if you intend to reduce time even more:

Avoid Busy Hours

Usually, patients who come to the facility in an emergency, come at odd hours such as during the night. Therefore, due to their constant treatment, the early morning hours could be busy and you might have to wait for more for your turn.

Online Check-In

Some urgent care facilities provide patients with the option of online check-ins via apps or websites. This is a great way to reduce time so always search if this option is available before heading to the facility.

E-Visit

During times of pandemic, a lot of patients are reluctant to visit medical facilities. In that case, they can get a medical checkup via a video call. This is a great way to treat patients in a short amount of time.

Urgent Care Near Me (iv)

MidWest Express Clinic

MidWest Express Clinic provides its services for illness care, family care, women’s health, Labs/ Testings and X-rays, and other services like bug bites, food poisoning, UTIs, Wart Removal, and many more.

They can be contacted at:

219 W. Chicago Ave

Chicago, IL 60654

312-878-1945

From 8:00am – 8:00pm daily

Urgent Care Immediate Care Center of Westmont

Urgent Care Immediate Care Center of Westmont offers up its services for common illnesses, common injuries, adult illnesses, pediatric illnesses, diagnostics, screening, exams, vaccinations, and occupational health. In addition to this, they have the facilities of physicals, imaging and X-ray, labs, and travel medicine.

They can be contacted at:

29N Cass Ave., Westmont, IL 60559

North of Westmont train station

(630)324-6229

Monday 10 am – 5 pm

Tuesday   10 am – 5 pm

Wednesday    10 am – 5 pm

Thursday     10 am – 5 pm

Friday    10 am – 5 pm

Saturday CLOSED

Sunday CLOSED

 

Physicians Immediate Care

Physicians Immediate Care provides services for injuries, illnesses, pediatric urgent care, immunizations, X-ray and diagnostics, physical therapy, occupational health, blood work labs and tests, physicals, medical procedures, and virtual telehealth.

They can be contacted at:

  1. Milwaukee Ave.

Chicago, IL

(773)770-4056

 

References