Urgent Care vs. Emergency Care, What Is the Difference?
Urgent care clinics have been designed as a viable replacement to your primary care doctor, they are intended to treat minor health issues, and while they usually have extended hours during the week, they do not operate 24 hours a day and most do not open on weekends.
Minor medical conditions and injuries such as an earache or a minor cut can be treated at an urgent care clinic, but any condition more serious than that, you are better off going to an emergency care center, as urgent clinics do not have operating rooms, and lack most of the diagnostic equipment necessary to properly diagnose serious conditions.
Stand-alone emergency care centers can diagnose and treat any type of illness or injury regardless of their severity with the added bonus of little to no wait times. Emergency care clinics they are equipped with emergency care physicians and nurses with expertise in a wide range of medical disciplines, and have advanced diagnostic equipment including x-rays, ultrasounds, CT Scans, and full-service laboratories at their disposal.
Altus Emergency Centers even has a dedicated pediatric emergency ward that provides children with everything necessary to make the visit to the emergency room as painless and pleasant as possible.
