If you are in Tampa and considering your options for emergency physicians, the first thought – naturally – might be turning to a hospital emergency room. This makes perfect sense, especially considering the wealth of renowned hospitals in the Tampa Bay region, starting with Tampa General in the heart of downtown Tampa. No matter where you might be in the region, a well-staffed emergency department is never more than a few minutes’ drive away.

The relatively large number of well-run hospitals is a product, in part, of Central Florida’s long-standing role as a retirement haven. Pinellas County, in particular, has long been a destination for retirees, and the medical care required to keep all of those retirees healthy into their Golden Years has followed. It was a simple matter of supply and demand. Unfortunately, as the demands on the healthcare system have increased with the aging of the Baby Boomer generation, even Tampa Bay’s superior emergency healthcare system has not been able to keep up. In response, a new industry has begun to flourish. Not only in the Tampa Bay area, but throughout the country, urgent care centers have become more prevalent.

An urgent care center is not an emergency department. It does not exist as a place to go to seek treatment for life-threatening conditions. Rather, it is a clinic, of sorts, where patients can go during regular business hours for treatment of conditions such as:

-Colds and flu

-Burns or lacerations

-Ear or eye infections

-Ligament sprains or muscle strains

-Rashes

-Allergies

-Broken bones

-And more

In most cases, an urgent care center accepts health insurance from most carriers, and they offer some of the same services as a hospital emergency department. In fact, an urgent care center might almost be considered a cross between a primary care physician and a hospital ER. That said, there are several conditions that are potentially life threatening that should only be treated at an ER. These include:

-Chest pain

-Severe abdominal pain

-Vomiting blood

-Shortness of breath not related to asthma

-Sudden blurred vision or dizziness

-Seizures

-Deep cuts that won’t stop bleeding

-Severe burns

-And more

Most urgent care clinics in Tampa are staffed by board-certified physicians, as well as medical assistants, nurse practitioners, and other medical personnel who are perfectly qualified to work in an emergency department if they so choose. The key difference, of course, is that with rare exceptions, urgent care clinics keep regular working hours. That is to say, many urgent care centers are open during the weekdays – perhaps into the early evenings – and only occasionally on weekends. Some might keep weekend hours, but they are inevitably shortened hours and almost never at night.

A good rule of thumb when determining whether to go to an urgent care center or a hospital emergency room is to consider whether the condition that needs to be treated can wait a few hours or even a full day before receiving medical attention, or if it needs to be looked at right away. If the former is the case, it might make more financial sense to go to an urgent care center. However, if the condition must be attended to immediately, then the hospital emergency room is the way to go.

Keep in mind that every circumstance is unique, and this article is not meant to endorse a particular urgent care center in Tampa in any way. Rather, it is to present another alternative to an ER visit if the medical condition warrants it. Only you can determine whether you should seek the aid of urgent care physicians in Tampa or go to the nearest hospital as soon as possible.

Peg Smith is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Ms. Smith is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to Tampa physicians.

Peg Smith is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Ms. Smith is able to offer insight into a multitude of topics, including Tampa physicians. http://www.laserspinelocations.com/tampa/

Author Bio: Peg Smith is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Ms. Smith is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to Tampa physicians.

Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: Tampa physicians