Scripps Ranch Urgent Care | Urgent Care

“Care shouldn’t start in the emergency room.” –James Douglas

If you’re like most people, you probably use the term “urgent care” interchangeably with “emergency room.”

I mean, they’re both health facilities that provide immediate medical attention, right? Wrong!

It turns out there’s a big difference between urgent care and an emergency room. Understanding these differences can be critical to getting the correct health treatment when you need it most.

What Is Urgent Care?

Urgent care clinics are walk-in clinics that treat non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses. If the injury or illness is not a true emergency, the patient can go to an urgent care clinic instead of the ER. Urgent care clinics are more cost-effective than ER appointments. This is because they don’t require a referral from your primary healthcare doctor and their fees are lower than most hospitals.

The urgent care also has shorter wait times than emergency rooms. It means that the patient is less likely to wait in pain while others with more serious health conditions get treated first.

The Difference Between Urgent Care and an ER Appointments

There are a few things to keep in mind when deciding between urgent care and ER appointments.

Urgent Care

Urgent care is for non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses. If the patient has a broken bone or fractured wrist, he will not find much relief at the ER. The patient will have to wait hours in the waiting area, only to be seen by a doctor that doesn’t specialize in your injury. And if the patient gets admitted, there’s no guarantee that the cost of treatment won’t exceed anything urgent care could offer. On top of that, waiting around all day isn’t exactly fun for any patient. So, why not choose the more convenient option?

Emergency Room

An ER is where a patient goes when something serious has happened. If someone hits their head hard or starts convulsing uncontrollably, they should head right over! The ER has advanced health equipment and staff that can help stabilize a patient quickly so they can start receiving treatment as soon as possible.

When Should I Get Urgent Medical Care?

You’re not sure whether to go to the emergency room or an urgent care clinic. That’s okay; we’ve all been there before. Depending on your symptoms, it can be hard to tell when you need urgent medical care and when you can wait a day or two at home for an appointment with your primary health care physician.

Allergies

If your allergies are acting up, you may want to visit an urgent care clinic. Allergy symptoms can be quite severe and include congestion, sneezing, coughing, and itchy eyes. If left untreated, they can also lead to a running nose or stuffy head; watery eyes; itching in the mouth or throat; hoarseness of voice; abdominal pain; vomiting; tiredness; muscle aches; weakness.

Asthma Symptoms

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it’s important to seek medical attention immediately.

Bronchitis and Colds

Bronchitis is a respiratory health infection that causes inflammation in the lungs. Symptoms include coughing, chest pain, and fever, as well as difficulty breathing. A cold is a viral respiratory tract infection caused by more than 200 different viruses that affect your nose, throat, and sinuses.

You may want to go see an urgent care doctor if you have trouble breathing or you’re having difficulty swallowing due to congestion in your airways.

Cuts and Lacerations

Cuts and lacerations are common wounds, but they can also be dangerous to your health if left untreated. If you have a cut or wound that is deep enough to see through, deep enough to cause bleeding, or if it’s from a puncture, like from stepping on a nail, then you should go to the emergency room immediately.

If your wound is not severe enough for immediate medical attention—and you don’t want to wait hours in an emergency room—then seek treatment at an urgent care clinic.

Flu Symptoms

You should consider going to an urgent care clinic if you are experiencing symptoms of the flu. A fever, chills, sore throat, cough, backache, and headache are all common signs of the flu. Muscle aches are also common symptoms that accompany a fever.

If you have these flu-like symptoms and you’re unsure whether or not they’re serious enough to merit a visit to the hospital emergency room or your family doctor’s office for treatment, an urgent care center is often your best bet for getting quick treatment that will help you feel better faster. Many urgent care centers can treat minor illnesses like colds or allergies without requiring a lengthy wait time in addition to providing prescription medication on-site.

Sore Throat

If you think you have a sore throat but aren’t sure if it’s severe enough to go to the emergency room or urgent care clinic for evaluation, ask yourself these questions:

• How long have I had my symptoms? If they’ve been around for more than two weeks or so, then you should probably go see your doctor instead of waiting for them to get better on their own at home.
• Can I take over-the-counter medication without experiencing side effects on my health? Cough suppressants with dextromethorphan shouldn’t cause any problems—but if you find yourself getting drowsy after taking cough medicine containing acetaminophen, we recommend visiting an urgent care clinic instead where they’ll have access to stronger anti-nausea medications like Compazine.

Sprains and Strains

Sprains and strains are common injuries that can happen to anyone. They are usually caused by overuse or overstretching. This means you may have a sprain or strain if you feel pain in a part of your body.

If you have a sprain or strain, it’s important to rest the affected area and apply ice immediately to control swelling and limit the damage. If the pain doesn’t improve within an hour after treatment, you should seek medical attention for further treatment options.

The Purpose of Urgent Care Clinics

Urgent care clinics are for non-life-threatening health injuries and illnesses. Emergency rooms are for life-threatening injuries and other conditions that require immediate medical attention.

If you think your injury or illness might be life-threatening, call 911 or go to the emergency room right away. However, if it isn’t life-threatening but is still serious, call your doctor instead of going to an urgent care services clinic.

If your health condition isn’t urgent or important enough to warrant an emergency room visit and if you don’t want to wait until after hours at your primary care provider’s office, then an urgent care clinic may be a good option for you.

Urgent care centers are open when most offices of Scripps Ranch’s primary care providers aren’t: evenings, weekends, and holidays.

If you have COVID-like symptoms and are not sure what to do, an urgent care clinic is a good option. But our advice is you should always call your primary care doctor first if you think you might have COVID.

If you go to an urgent care services clinic because of COVID symptoms like chest pain or difficulty breathing, emergency medical services will be called immediately. It is because they need to transport you to a hospital emergency room as soon as possible.

You can go to an urgent care clinic if you have COVID-like symptoms but they are mild, like a fever or nausea.

What Are the Benefits of Urgent Care Scripps Ranch?

“Time and health are two precious assets that we don’t recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted.” – Denis Waitley

Convenience

Urgent care centers usually have extended hours, including evenings and weekends. You don’t have to wait for an appointment or make several phone calls before you can get an appointment.

Fast treatment

Many times, the urgent care center will be able to treat your health condition in one visit. If you need more time with the doctor or other health experts, they’ll be more likely to accommodate you than if you went somewhere else where they didn’t know what was wrong with your health.

Lower cost

Urgent care service centers are less expensive than emergency rooms because they don’t charge as much as ER doctors do. The same goes for any test that might be necessary once they’ve diagnosed your health condition. Those test costs are also lower than they would be if you went to medical group offices first.

Why Choose Scripps Ranch Urgent Care?

When you think of an urgent care community medical group in Scripps Ranch San Diego, you should be thinking about Perlman Clinic.

7-Day Access

We’re open 7 days a week and have extended hours, until 10 pm. So, no matter when your illness or injury strikes, our services are here for you.

Online Urgent Care Appointments

We’ve added Virtual Visits to our services. So, even if you can’t come in person, we’ll make sure that you get the help you need from our board-certified physicians. This means that no matter when or where it happens to strike, Perlman Clinic Scripps Ranch San Diego will always be there for you!

Location

We understand how important it is to be close by when something goes wrong with your health. Thankfully, Perlman Clinic is right around the corner from home and works in Scripps Ranch San Diego. Most of us are within 5 miles of one another. Imagine how much easier life would be if all of your important places were within 5 miles of each other!

Physical Therapy and Laboratory

To top everything off, Perlman Clinic Scripps Ranch Urgent Care is a full-service medical facility. We offer many different services beyond urgent care. Perlman Clinic Scripps Ranch offers physical therapy and X-rays on-site. Patients may also get their laboratory test by appointment only at nearby San Diego City urgent care labs.

Call Us If You Need Urgent Care Services

So, the next time you find yourself in need of urgent care, know that our team at Perlman Clinic San Diego is here for you. We are proud to provide comprehensive medical services that go above and beyond what other providers offer.

We can help with all your general medical needs as well as any injuries or illnesses that arise unexpectedly. With convenient hours, extended weekend hours, and virtual visits available when needed. We make it easy to get the urgent treatment services you need when you need them most!