What’s the best use of urgent care? | Expert Opinion

What do you do when you have an urgent medical issue and cannot easily access your physician?

It’s a common problem in Philadelphia and across the country. Primary care offices are under tremendous strain because of shortages of primary care physicians, advanced practice providers like nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, receptionists, nurses, and medical assistants.

As a family medicine physician, I am frustrated by this. I chose primary care to get to know patients and their families over time. When an urgent issue arises, I can evaluate it in the context of everything I already know about my patient.

» READ MORE: Deciding where to seek care is complicated by the many options

Unfortunately, this isn’t always possible, and patients may need to turn to urgent care clinics. But knowing when to seek help at urgent care — rather than rushing to an emergency department or waiting for your own doctor to have an opening — can be confusing.

Here are questions to consider that may help you decide:

Anything that needs first aid that you cannot tend to at home, but isn’t life-threatening. Examples include cuts that won’t stop bleeding or might need stitches, evaluation for a skin infection, coughs, and colds in relatively healthy people, or an injury that might require evaluation for a cast or splint.

A potential stroke or heart attack, serious difficulty breathing and/or a cough in older patients with other medical conditions, a fever in children under the age of 3, or the worsening of a chronic condition (such as heart failure or lung disease) for which a patient already sees a specialist.

An urgent care visit is expected to be able to completely evaluate and treat a medical issue. These facilities cannot monitor patients over time or do lengthy and complicated medical evaluations. Go to the hospital instead.

Primarily, lack of access to patients’ medical records.

Most urgent care offices will not be able to access important patient information like an up-to-date list of medications, recent radiology and blood test results, or lists of physicians taking care of the patient. For people who have more complicated medical conditions, this information will be incredibly useful for any medical provider evaluating them. For this reason, heading to an emergency room associated with the medical system you typically use, or one at which your primary care provider is affiliated with, will be a time-saver in the long run. The transfer of your care from the ER to your physician will be much simpler if the two can communicate.

Ask your primary care provider what they recommend you do if you feel you need evaluation for an urgent issue. Does your doctor want you to call the office for guidance? Is your provider part of a large hospital system that operates its own urgent care centers? If so, this may be a good option as these centers will have access to your medical records and can communicate with your physician. Some primary care offices contract with an urgent care telehealth service to help patients get immediate medical advice outside office hours. It’s also possible that your doctor may want you to use a specific urgent care center in your area. Ultimately, talking with your physician in advance on how best to manage an urgent issue will help you both feel prepared.

Amanda Finegold Swain is a family medicine physician who works in the University of Pennsylvania Health System.