Emergency Room Care vs. Urgent Care
Today's Emergency Departments (EDs) are far more than just emergency rooms (ERs) since they have become centers for excellence in the treatment of critical medical conditions and injuries. They also provide emergency care for many sick patients who do not have access to their primary care physician.
Urgent care centers, including retail clinics, provide unscheduled and same day care outside of traditional emergency departments. These centers can treat a broad spectrum of minor medical conditions and injuries. Some have advanced diagnostic capabilities such as on site laboratory testing and radiology.
Urgent care is a new specialty, and many family physicians and emergency physicians work in these facilities, as well as advance practice providers such as physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs). Medical malpractice expertise in urgent care requires a broad scope of practice.
Conditions that could cause death or permanent impairment are often best treated at an emergency department, but some "Acute Care Facilities" and "Free Standing Emergency Departments" provide a full spectrum of care including treatment for heart attacks and strokes, as well as observation medicine with telemetry and specialty consultations.
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