What is Urgent Care

January 3, 2017 10:41 am Published by

By: Amanda Comer, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, ACNP-BC, ENP-BC

It is 3:30 pm on a Friday afternoon when you start to feel a burn in your throat and an ache over your body.  You remember your coworker was out earlier this week with strep throat, so you decide to check your temperature. It is 101!  You immediately call your primary care provider only to find out she/he is gone for the week, but the office staff will make you an appointment first thing Monday morning.  You know you cannot wait until Monday to be treated, so now you are faced with a choice.  Do you go to the hospital emergency department or the local urgent care clinic?

Understanding your options and knowing what is available will make decisions easier when you need immediate care in the future.  Until recently, patients only had the choice of seeing their primary care provider or going to the emergency department.  However, a new growth spurt in the urgent care industry, which began in the mid-1990s, is changing how we view immediate care today.  The patient’s desire for immediate access to medical care has been a driving source behind this surge.  Your primary care provider is the best place to start when you are sick, and the emergency department is a worth-while destination when you are seeking care that treats emergencies and critical patients.  The ED often serves as a gateway for inpatient admission as well.  Where do you go for the in-between?  Despite recent efforts to strengthen primary care, the principal reason patients visit emergency departments for non-emergent outpatient care is lack of timely options elsewhere.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 136.3 million total ED visits occurring in 2011, with only 11.9% requiring admission. A survey by the CDC showed that about 80% of adults who visited an emergency department did so because they lacked access to other providers. A community tracking study indicates that most patients do not use the emergency department for the sake of convenience, but instead seek care in emergency departments because they perceive no viable alternative exists.

An urgent care center bridges this gap by providing a convenient option when your regular provider is closed or unavailable.  Urgent Care can offer a fast alternative to wait times as well as a more affordable option to the emergency department.  Magnolia Express Care provides easy access to quality healthcare, treating acute illnesses and injuries, with no appointment necessary.  Magnolia Express Care is open extended hours, weekends and most holidays providing on site assessment, lab, x-ray, diagnosis and treatment.

What can be treated at Magnolia Express Care Clinic?

  • Earaches
  • Common eye infections/Conjunctivitis
  • Sore throat
  • Sinus infection, allergies
  • Upper respiratory infections, bronchitis, cough, cold and congestion
  • Fever
  • Flu, Mono, RSV
  • Skin Rashes, Insect Bites and Abscesses
  • Stomach Virus
  • Urinary Tract Infections, STD exposure
  • Minor falls and injuries including sprains, strains and lacerations

Most urgent care centers are not equipped to treat true emergencies such as chest pain, stroke, head injuries, severe abdominal pain, open fractures, profound bleeding, pregnancy or major trauma.  Nor do urgent care clinics follow chronic illnesses such as diabetes, high cholesterol, mental illnesses or chronic pain.

Magnolia Express Care is a walk-in clinic that provides treatment of urgent care needs to patients of all ages, staffed with extensively trained physicians and experienced nurse practitioners.  In addition to what is listed above, Magnolia Express Care Clinic provides pre-employment health screening, DOT physicals, drug testing, routine school and sports physicals. Immunizations are available including influenza, tetanus, shingles and pneumococcal vaccines.

For more information on Magnolia Express Care, please call 662-286-1499.

 

Amanda Comer, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, ACNP-BC, ENP-BC

Magnolia Express Care

703 Alcorn Drive #109

Corinth, Mississippi 38834

www.mrhc.org/expresscare

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This post was written by Magnolia Regional Health Center