Medicare data finds that the average wait in Fresno’s Community Regional Medical Center is just under 4 ½ hours. The hospital’s emergency department treats more than 60,000 patients annually. That’s just one area hospital with long wait times. Others in the Fresno area have the following average waits.
- Adventist Health Reedley – About 2 ½ hours (20,000 to 39,999 patients per year)
- Clovis Community Medical Center – About 4 ½ hours (Over 60,000 patients per year)
- Saint Agnes Medical Center – Just under 4 ½ hours (Over 60,000 patients per year)
When an emergency department receives a high volume of patients, it creates a backlog. The rate at which a patient sees a doctor depends on the nature of the medical issue. If a patient has a sprain, while painful, it’s less urgent than an infant with a high fever.
Urgent care is the perfect solution. Doctors see fewer patients per day, resulting in significantly slower wait times. While urgent care isn’t the best choice for every patient, it’s one of the best ways to prevent overcrowding in a hospital.
Hospital Overcrowding Starts With the Emergency Department
When a child is sick and the doctor’s office is closed or lacks openings, parents don’t want to wait. It’s a human reaction to the fear of seeing your child suffering from fever, a severe cough, vomiting, or some form of discomfort.
You trip in your home and break your fall with your wrist. You’re sure it needs an X-ray, and that means the ED. Right?
This is how overcrowding begins. People who don’t have life-or-death health conditions or substantial injuries take up both a bed and a doctor’s time seeking answers. Every patient who goes to the ED unnecessarily delays care for others.
The longer the list becomes, the longer it takes for patients to get the care they need.
Studies show that 2% of patients who register at Community Regional Medical Center leave before it’s their turn to see a doctor.
- Adventist Health Reedley –1% of patients leave
- Clovis Community Medical Center – 1% of patients leave
- Saint Agnes Medical Center – 2% of patients leave
Delayed Treatment Impacts Patient Care
Treatment delays can be dangerous. If a patient has a stroke and doesn’t get a brain scan quickly, it’s detrimental. If a child falls and hits his head, undiagnosed cranial bleeding could create pressure within the brain that forever changes that child’s life.
It’s essential to see a doctor as quickly as possible, and that means visiting the correct medical setting. By understanding the differences between urgent care and emergency departments, you can make informed healthcare choices, empowering you to take control and responsibility for your health.
Urgent Care vs. Emergency Department: Know Where to Go
Emergency departments are essential for medical emergencies. They’re the best place to go if you are experiencing:
- Anaphylaxis
- Chest pain
- Compound bone fractures (bone pokes through the skin) or breaks that result in loss of movement
- A high fever that medicine doesn’t reduce
- Intense headache with a stiff neck
- Poison ingestion
- Seizure
- Severe burns
- Smoke or chemical inhalation
- Stroke symptoms
- Uncontrolled bleeding
Urgent Care Offers Multiple Benefits
Urgent care is good for everything else. If you suspect you have a UTI, urgent care is the best option if your primary care physician is unavailable. The same applies to issues, such as allergies, animal bites, suspected sinus or ear infections, sprains, dehydration, or wounds that require stitches.
By visiting urgent care, you avoid overwhelming your local hospital. You also gain additional benefits.
Lower Patient Costs
Urgent care costs less. It’s that simple. According to a report from UnitedHealthcare, urgent care is often the most cost-effective option.
- Emergency room care – $1,700
- In-person care with your primary care provider (PCP) – $160
- In-person urgent care – $165
- Virtual care outside of your PCP – $54
- Virtual care with your PCP – $99
On-Site Diagnostics
People don’t always realize that an urgent care practice has many of the same machines and lab equipment as a hospital. You can undergo X-rays, have blood drawn, and receive IV fluids or medications. You have results for things like urine cultures before you leave, so you know exactly what’s wrong with you.
Additional Services
Urgent care practices offer additional services that can be very helpful when you have a busy schedule. Do you need your yearly flu shot? Visit an urgent care center and get up to date on any vaccinations you’re missing.
Is your yearly DOT physical due? Urgent care performs health exams. If a drug test is required, a medical professional draws the blood sample and brings it to the lab for processing.
Enhanced Patient Experience
Urgent care doctors and nurses do have to watch how much time they spend with patients when there’s a line, but it’s still more time than an emergency department physician or nurse can afford.
You’re also in a smaller medical office, so it’s not as hectic as an ED. You’re not exposed to the yelling, equipment noise, and foot traffic, which can be soothing if you get overwhelmed in a busy setting.
Possibility of Telehealth Visits
Urgent care practices may offer telemedicine appointments. If your health issue can be addressed through a video chat, consider using telehealth.
You chat with nurses and doctors during a video call and share information like your temperature, height, weight, blood pressure, or pulse, using equipment you have at home. If you have a skin rash, you can show the doctor what it looks like.
It’s an excellent way to get medical advice without having to leave your home. Telehealth is ideal for issues such as skin rashes, coughs, flu/cold symptoms, anxiety, sore throats, and earaches.
Longer Hours
The final benefit to urgent care is that many practices offer extended evening hours and weekend hours, accommodating your busy schedule and providing peace of mind. Your child’s weekend ear infection doesn’t have to wait until Monday to be seen, making you feel at ease.
Premium Urgent Care offers Fresno’s residents and visitors convenient and efficient patient care. If you have a non-emergent health issue, visit one of our four convenient locations.
- Clovis – 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
- Fresno – 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Monday through Friday
- Selma – 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday
- West Fresno – 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Note that most of these urgent care practices accept the final walk-in of the day half an hour before the office closes to ensure patients have enough time with the doctors and nurses. Fresno and Selma locations take a lunch break from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Use online check-in before you arrive to minimize any wait.