How Does Urgent Care Work?

If you have a medical issue that is not a life-threatening emergency, you should go to an urgent care clinic rather than an emergency room! There are a couple of key reasons for this. First, the services rendered at urgent care clinics are far cheaper than those in emergency rooms across the board. If you have health insurance, the cost of an urgent care clinic visit averages out to around $50 to $150. However, visits to emergency rooms typically cost anywhere from $150 at the lowest to upwards of $3,000! Even if you lack health insurance, urgent care services are still likely to be much cheaper than those of an emergency room. Second, we all know how notorious the wait times can be in emergency rooms. However, since urgent care clinics operate on a first-come, first-served basis, they can see patients in a much timelier fashion than emergency rooms. In 2019, the Urgent Care Association reported that over 90% of patients see a physician, physician’s assistant, or nurse practitioner within thirty minutes of arriving at an urgent care clinic, and have completed their visit within 60 minutes of their arrival. Thus, for both efficiency and financial reasons, urgent care clinics are a far more astute choice for non-life-threatening medical situations than emergency rooms.

If you are experiencing a life-threatening medical emergency, you must go to your nearest emergency room immediately. Urgent care clinics are not equipped to provide adequate services to individuals experiencing a life-threatening medical emergency. As such, they defer to emergency rooms for all life-threatening medical emergencies.

You would be surprised at the full range of services that urgent care clinics can provide! Here at UCare Urgent Care and Walk-In Clinic, we can treat several different illnesses, injuries, and conditions, and can provide many various services, including the following:

• Abdominal Pain
• Abrasions, cuts, and lacerations
• Animal and insect bites
• Asthma and bronchitis
• Bladder infections
• Bruises, contusions, fractures, sprains, and strains
• Burns
• Camp, school, and sports physicals
• Cold and flu, including fevers and sore throat
• Concussions
• Department of Transportation (DOT) physicals
• Ear or eye infections
• Immunizations, both for local and travel
• Lab and X-ray diagnostic services
• Occupational health services, including workers’ compensation
• Pediatric urgent care services
• Rashes
• Sinus infection
• Strep throat
• Tuberculosis (TB) testing
• Urinary tract infections (UTI)
• And more!

Urgent care clinics are designed to reduce the number of patients that go to emergency rooms for non-life-threatening medical illnesses, injuries, or conditions. As such, they often offer extended open hours and aim to see patients in the most efficient manner possible. By deferring to emergency rooms for all life-threatening medical emergencies, urgent care clinics prioritize patients on a first-come, first-served basis instead of prioritizing based on who needs care most immediately. Therefore, urgent care clinics help emergency room doctors and nurses by reducing their workload and assisting patients in receiving timely and attentive care for their medical concerns. Urgent care clinics are also helpful when individuals cannot see their primary care physician in short order.

If you are looking for an established and trustworthy urgent care clinic in El Paso, TX and Horizon City TX, we welcome you to come to UCare Urgent Care and Walk-In Clinic! To schedule an appointment with us, please call us or do so through our website. Our clinic is located at Horizon City TX, on North Zaragoza Rd. in El Paso TX, and on Lee Trevino Dr. in El Paso TX. You can reach us Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM and on Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. We serve patients from El Paso TX, Horizon City TX, Lee Trevino Drive TX, Fort Bliss TX, Mission Valley TX, Resler Canyon TX, Alfalfa TX, Montwood TX, and BEYOND.