Although they sound the same, urgent care centers and emergency rooms are vastly different services.
In a nut shell, Emergency rooms treat severe, life-threatening conditions, and are open all day, every day. Urgent care centers provide care for non-life threatening illnesses and injuries, and are not 24/7 facilities.
URGENT CARE:
- Extended hours
- You have the option for a walk-in or check-in online.
- Can be significantly less expensive than the emergency room, for non-life threatening illnesses and injuries.
- On average, patients are cared for in less than an hour. That’s a fraction of the time of an emergency room visit.
By those stats, urgent care centers are quicker, more convenient, and less expensive than the emergency room. But, you should know when you need to go to the emergency room.
WHEN TO GO TO THE ER:
- Signs of a heart attack, severe chest pain/pressure
- Signs of stroke
- Anaphylaxis
- Sudden or unexplained loss of consciousness
- Severe head injuries
- Sudden loss of vision
- Sudden shortness of breath
- Coughing or vomiting blood
- Sudden and severe abdominal pain
Cosmo Insurance provides plans that keep your out of pocket costs down when visiting the emergency room or urgent care center.
When you reach out to Cosmo, our health insurance brokers in New Jersey spend all the time necessary to determine what your needs and priorities are. We are independent and offer plans from a large spectrum of reputable carriers. We explain your options in great detail and clarity– down to the fine print – so that you can choose a plan that will satisfy you for the long term.
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