Urgent Care vs Emergency Room: What Type of Care do You Need

When you need care right away, the emergency room may not be your only option. If the situation isn't life threatening, an urgent care clinic may be able to provide the care you need more quickly — and at a much lower cost than a hospital emergency room.

What is the difference between urgent care vs emergency rooms? ^¹

Hospital Emergency departments are staffed 24/7 with physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals trained to deliver emergency care. Access to specialists in areas like cardiology, neurology and orthopedics is also typically available. In addition, emergency rooms have the imaging and lab services needed to diagnose life-threatening situations, and hospital access to operating rooms should emergency surgery be necessary.

For immediate care that falls outside your primary care physician's regular office hours, an urgent care clinic can be a good option, as many are open seven days a week. Staff may include physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners and access to diagnostic imaging like X-rays and lab testing may be available. These facilities may be able to diagnose your injury or illness onsite, determine an appropriate course of treatment and they can prescribe medications.

When to go to the ER^²

Emergency care is the best option when you require immediate medical attention due to a life-threatening crisis or medical emergency. Head to a hospital Emergency Department — call 911 if necessary — if you experience any of these potentially life-threatening symptoms:

• Heart attack symptoms including chest pain, left arm or jaw pain
• Shortness of breath
• Difficulty breathing
• Cuts that don't stop bleeding after five minutes with applied pressure
• Third-degree burns
• Head trauma
• Seizures
• Loss of consciousness
• Signs of stroke including slurred speech, blurred vision or sudden weakness in the arms, legs or face or loss of balance
• Severe allergic reaction including swelling of the lips, difficulty swallowing or breathing
• Compound bone breaks (a bone protrudes through the skin)
• Overdose or chemical ingestion
• If you're pregnant and have vaginal bleeding and/or pelvic/abdominal pain

When to go to urgent care^²

An urgent care clinic is appropriate for non-emergency situations that require medical care, but are not life-threatening. Consider whether an urgent care clinic might meet your needs if you're experiencing:

• Fevers, colds or flu
• Vomiting, nausea or diarrhea
• Milder symptoms related to COVID-19
• Sports injuries including strains, sprains or simple bone breaks
• Minor cuts or burns
• Mild asthma attacks
• Urinary tract infections
• Cuts requiring stitches
• Dehydration
• Back or muscle pain
• Bronchitis, or other respiratory infection
• Earaches
• Sore throat
• Animal bites
• Rashes or other skin conditions

If the care provider feels you need a higher level of care, they will send you to the ER.

Urgent Care vs Emergency Room: Average Cost and Wait Time

The average cost of an urgent care visit is approximately $150, while an ER visit averages $1,300-$1,400.^³ It's a good idea to review your insurance and know what your copay, deductible, or other out-of-pocket expenses might be for either type of visit before you're faced with an emergency situation.

In an ER, the most urgent patients are treated first, so the less life-threatening your condition, the longer you'll likely wait. The average ER visit, including wait and treatment time is 2.5 hours. Most Urgent Care clinics have patients in and out within 60 minutes or less.^³

While it's good to know where your closest ER is in the event of a life-threatening emergency, it's estimated that nearly two-thirds, or 18 of the 27 million ER visits in the US each year could be handled by an urgent care facility.^⁴ Understanding your options can help get you the best care you need when you need it.

Paying for Emergency or Urgent Care Visits

You can use your CareCredit credit card to pay for emergency care or urgent care visits including out-of-pocket costs like deductibles or copays.* Use our Acceptance Locator or download the CareCredit Mobile App to find urgent care locations near you that accept the CareCredit credit card.