When in need of urgent medical care most people think of heading to the emergency room. However, there are many other ways to get care, especially if your primary physician isn’t available. I’m here to share with you how you can do so without it costing you an arm or a leg, or even your kidney.
This is a sponsored post written in conjunction with UCHealth, however, all opinions are my own.
True story! As many of you know I recently got back from a trip to Belgium and the Netherlands. However, coming up to my trip I hadn’t been feeling well and neither was Madison, I’m pretty sure she got me sick in the first place. I was congested, had a slight temperature and essentially thought it was the flu. About 24hrs before my flight, a call to my primary care doctor trying to get an appointment was unrealized as the earliest appointment wasn’t until the following week. I was told that my only options were to pay a visit to the ER or visit an Urgent Care Clinic. As we all know, visiting an emergency room isn’t always time effective as you can be there for hours and I didn’t consider my symptoms warranted an emergency room visit.
Luckily for me, I knew where to go. I had visited an UCHealth Urgent Care Clinic location in the past with two of my children. Kyle, when he needed a sports physical and Madison when she wasn’t feeling well. I decided to try them first. I was able to go online and choose a time when I could be seen (8:30am) and was there a few minutes after they opened at 8am the next morning. Six hours before my flight I was seen after waiting for less than 10 minutes, prescribed medication and sent along my way. It was as easy as that.
SO WHAT IS UCHEALTH?
They are a network of hospitals and freestanding clinics in the Colorado area. They believe in putting patients first, while still offering excellent healthcare. With a network of 10 hospitals and over 100 clinics, they work with a variety of health insurance companies. You can find UCHealth primary care clinics, emergency rooms, and urgent care facilities in many areas in Colorado. In the event that you don’t have health insurance, you won’t see a HUGE bill as you may think you would, which actually surprised me.
EMERGENCY vs URGENT CARE
How do you know which care is needed? Most people when they get sick and can’t get an appointment with their primary care doctor immediately think about heading to the ER. However, an urgent care visit may be what you need instead. Consider the emergency room for exactly what it says, emergencies only – while urgent care for minor illnesses or injury.
Consider the emergency room if you have an illness or an injury that you wouldn’t consider your primary care physician for, or it’s in the middle of the night. If you think you may be experiencing a heart attack, however, please call 911. Here are a few examples of when the emergency room is your best choice.
- Poisoning
- Head injuries
- Severe breaks, bones protruding through the skin
- Overdoses
On the other hand, consider an urgent care clinic if your illness or injury is something minor and you can’t get an appointment with your doctor, which was my case. Here are also some examples of when you should consider visiting an urgent care clinic.
- Headaches
- Coughs and colds, flu symptoms, sore throats etc.
- Sprains and strains
- Lacerations
Not only is visiting an UCHealth center convenient, but you also have choices as to where to go, and all within easy access to where you live, and it’s also very affordable as well. To find your nearest UCHealth center visit the UCHealth website.
