Are you one of those people who are unsure as to which type of healthcare facility you should seek treatment at in the event of a medical situation?
Depending on the nature of your condition or injury, you have a variety of options you can try, but your ideal options are a walk-in clinic and an urgent care clinic. Let’s delineate their distinctions to help you determine where you’re supposed to go for a particular medical situation.
Treatment and Services
A walk-in clinic, also referred to as a retail clinic, is designed is for quick visits. Walk-in clinics are the ones you see in grocery stores, pharmacies, and “big box” stores, such as Target and Walmart. Some of the services you can acquire at walk-in clinics are treatment for simple, acute conditions, vaccinations, drug prescriptions for common conditions, and blood pressure checks.
Urgent care clinics, on the other hand, are typically freestanding facilities. Services in urgent care clinics include treatment for acute illnesses or minor injuries, such as urinary tract infections (UTIs), minor cuts and abrasions, minor burns, simple fractures, among others.
If you have a condition or injury that is not serious enough to be considered life-threatening, but it needs prompt medical intervention, then your best course of action is to go to an urgent care clinic. Also, because walk-in clinics have a limited menu of services, if you are living with multiple chronic health conditions, your best bet is to go to a primary care practice that offers urgent care services.
Staff and Equipment
One of the major differences between these facilities is the staffing: urgent care clinics are required by law to have at least one board-certified primary care family medicine provider, whereas walk-in clinics typically only have nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Moreover, most urgent care facilities have multiple exam rooms and more advanced medical and diagnostic equipment. These are for conducting x-rays, administering IVs, and treating injuries.
Costs
Walk-in clinics provide more affordable options and less expensive treatments than urgent care clinics do. It is because walk-in clinics are primarily geared toward catering to the uninsured and underinsured. Urgent care services, nonetheless, are less expensive than emergency room services.
Urgent Care Clinic in Wellington and Royal Palm Beach, FL
At Advanced Medical in Wellington and Royal Palm Beach, Florida, we are essentially a primary care practice that is committed to providing comprehensive, patient-centered urgent care services to people of all ages in our community. Whether what you have is an acute or chronic medical condition, you can rest assured that we will provide you with the highest quality of evidence-based medical care.
If you have an acute medical situation that needs prompt treatment, you can either walk in or book a same-day appointment by calling us at (561) 434-1935. Alternatively, you may fill out our appointment request form. We look forward to building a long-term relationship with you!
