ER vs. Urgent Care in Raleigh, NC

With medical costs rising every year, it is becoming more and more important for patients to know what is the best option when medical issues need to be addressed quickly. Urgent Care in Raleigh, NC and around the country has become a more popular option in recent years. At Wake Internal Medicine, urgent care provides an alternative in some instances to emergency room visits and can save you time and money.

Difference between ER and Urgent Care in Raleigh, NC

ER- Emergency rooms are open 24 hours a day. The ER is intended for medical emergencies usually considered life-threatening. Emergency rooms are equipped to handle severe injuries and trauma. They have equipment and staff on hand ready for life-threatening situations. Because they are open for 24 hours and have staff and equipment capable of handling major injuries and trauma, emergency rooms are very costly. Your co-pay for the ER is usually higher, there might be separate charges from the ER and the physician who treated you, and your insurance may not pay for the ER visit if they determine the visit was not a true emergency.  Urgent Care- Urgent care is meant to treat medical injuries or sickness that are not life-threatening and are usually after hours or at a time when a patient's primary physician isn't available. Urgent care offices usually have extended hours that include opening early and closing late. Because urgent care clinics do not have the hours or medical equipment and staff to treat life-threatening illnesses, urgent care is generally much less expensive than an ER visit. Urgent care usually has lower co-pay, usually has only one charge on the visit and most insurance plans cover urgent care visits within their network. Urgent care is often a shorter wait time than the ER as well.

When to go to Urgent Care or ER?  

When an injury or condition arises, first assess the severity of the injury, sickness or condition. Then determine if it is something that needs immediate extensive attention or if it is minor, but still might need to be taken care of sooner rather than later. Also take into account what time of day is it. Is your primary care physician available, is it after hours or is it in the middle of the night? The ER is there for severe injuries or sickness 24 hours a day. This option should be reserved for life-threatening conditions, when you need immediate extensive care. Urgent Care is there when your primary care physician isn't available. Urgent care is great for minor injuries and illnesses that need attention, but aren't life-threatening.

Urgent Care in Raleigh, NC

If you are looking for urgent care providers in Raleigh, NC and the surrounding area, Wake Internal Medicine has got you covered. Our RXUC office in Raleigh specializes in providing quality urgent care services when you need them. We provide a number of urgent care services to keep you healthy and safe.

RXUC Urgent Care Services       

  • Minor Illness
  • Minor Injury
  • Physicals
  • School Sports Physicals
  • Vaccinations
  • Workers Comp
  • Lab Services/X-ray
For more information on our urgent care offices and all of the services our staff provides, contact us at our Raleigh, NC urgent care offices.