Urgent Care Centers

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A Family Caregiver’s Guide to Urgent Care Centers

Urgent care centers help fill the gap between a doctor’s office and a hospital’s emergency room (ER). They provide treatment for medical problems such as a sudden illness or injuries that need attention right away but are not life-threatening emergencies.

This guide includes basic information about urgent care centers. It is written to help you understand options for immediate care when your family member’s doctor is not available or you cannot get an appointment right away. It does not replace the advice of your family member’s doctor.

About Urgent Care Centers

A person might go to an urgent care center for a medical problem such as a:

• sprained ankle or wrist
• cut finger
• painful sore throat
• sinus or urinary tract infection
• rash
• headache
• insect bite
• infected toe
• upset stomach

These are just examples of the kinds of medical problems urgent care centers generally treat. But staff at one urgent care center may decide that a patient with an injury needs to go to the ER. Staff at another center may decide to provide treatment right there. Sometimes this choice depends on how serious the problem is and if the health care provider has experience treating it. Most urgent care centers can take X-rays, do blood work, and perform other common tests.

Staff at urgent care centers will assess your family member’s medical problem and may provide some symptom relief. They will also say whether your family member needs to see his or her doctor for follow-up care.

The urgent care center may instead want your family member to go to the nearest ER. This may happen if the medical problem is very serious or if the urgent care staff feels they cannot provide the right kind of treatment. If your family member needs to go to the ER, the urgent care center may help make the arrangements to get there right away.

• When There is a Medical Emergency
• Types of Urgent Care Centers
• How to Find an Urgent Care Center
• Questions to Ask Before Going to an Urgent Care Center
• What to Do After Going to an Urgent Care Center