It can be difficult to figure out if your medical situation merits going to the emergency room or if it can be properly treated at a walk-in urgent care clinic. If your medical situation is life-threatening, needs emergency medical attention immediately, or may need a surgical procedure, please go to an emergency room for care. Urgent care clinics can offer the same services your primary physician would but with more flexibility with a walk-in clinic and the capability to manage urgent medical situations. If your condition is non-life-threatening but requires same-day care, urgent care clinics have a faster wait time than emergency rooms and can provide the proper care you need to treat minor illnesses and injuries.

You do not need a referral from a doctor to go to an urgent care clinic. Typically, if you are going to an urgent care clinic, it is on a walk-in, urgent basis would not allow you the time to schedule an appointment with your doctor to receive a referral beforehand. Urgent care clinics are intended for non-life-threatening medical care that cannot wait another day for treatment and thus needs to be accessed with limited notice to the clinic. Also, depending on where you live, primary care physicians may be in high demand making it even more difficult for you to schedule a visit to them even for just a regular check-up, let alone for a same-day short-notice appointment.

Urgent care clinics and walk-in clinics are not the same, though they do have many similarities. Urgent care clinics are walk-in clinics in that patients do not need to schedule appointments to visit and receive medical attention and do not often come with a long wait time. However, urgent care clinics provide emergency, non-life-threatening care that requires same-day treatment, acting as a bridge between a typical primary physician clinic and an emergency room. They can provide immediate care for minor illnesses and injuries. Walk-in clinics typically offer more primary care type services, often filling a gap in the health care system to ensure that even if you do not have your primary care physician, you are still able to access medical care for regular check-ups, testing, immunizations, and any other care that is traditionally provided by a primary care physician but usually in a more affordable clinic that offers more flexible hours.

Both urgent care clinics and walk-in clinics do not require appointments and are a much more convenient, affordable option than emergency rooms and primary care clinics. If your medical condition is life-threatening and requires immediate serious medical interventions, please go to an emergency room, as they are better set up to treat serious injuries and illnesses.

Urgent care clinics are intended for non-life-threatening medical situations for which you require same-day care. If you need medical attention on the same day, it is recommended that you call your family doctor first to see if they can see you, as they are familiar with your medical history and conditions. Trying to see your doctor first is not required to be allowed to visit an urgent care clinic, they exist to provide urgent care to patients who do not have access to their doctor or do not yet have a primary care physician, to provide necessary medical care to anyone who is in need. If you are in a situation in which you require urgent care and it is not dire enough to go to an emergency room, urgent care clinics exist for that exact purpose and are recommended for same-day care.
 
Visit PrimeHealth Urgent Care in Lehigh Acres, FL for your urgent care needs. For more information, contact us or schedule an appointment online. We are located at 5781 Lee Blvd., Suite 302, Lehigh Acres, FL 33971. We serve patients from Lehigh Acres FL, Richmond FL, Westminster FL, Fort Myers FL, Buckingham FL, and surrounding areas.