Emergency Medicine

When it comes to your health, an emergency is a situation that threatens your life, a limb, or your sight. Essentially, it’s any health issue that is either life-threatening or significantly life-altering.

It can be challenging to know when a health issue is an emergency. The American College of Emergency Physicians offers a list of red flag symptoms for which you should seek emergency medicine care:

• Changes in mental status
• Chest pain or pressure that lasts for two minutes or longer
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Fainting or a loss of consciousness
• Head or spine injury
• Inability to speak
• Severe abdominal pain or pressure
• Sudden dizziness, weakness, or changes in vision
• Sudden, severe, or unrelenting pain anywhere in the body
• Swelling of the face, eyes, or tongue
• Thoughts of death or suicide
• Uncontrollable bleeding

Children should be taken to the emergency room for any of the symptoms listed above, but there are also some additional symptoms that can be a red flag in kids. Take your child to the emergency room for:

• Bluish or grey coloration of the skin
• Difficulty eating or feeding
• Fever accompanied by a change in mental status or stiffness in the neck or back
• Inability to stand or walk
• Increased sleepiness
• Lack of alertness or responsiveness
• Seizure

Yes, certain situations are also a red flag that emergency care is needed. Seek emergency attention if you:

• Burn yourself
• Choke
• Cough or vomit up blood
• Experience a near drowning
• Get a deep or large wound
• Have a motor vehicle accident
• Inhale smoke
• Swallow a poisonous substance

Urgent care is a great option when you need medical care sooner than you can see your primary care provider, but not immediately. Urgent care providers can treat:

• Cold or flu symptoms
• Cuts
• Earache
• Headache
• Mild fever
• Minor broken bones
• Nasal or chest congestion
• Nausea or vomiting
• Sore throat
• Sprains or strains
• Urinary tract infections

Your primary care provider (PCP) should be your go-to for any ongoing medical needs and preventive care. When it’s possible, it’s also best to see your PCP for minor health issues like those listed above. That’s because your PCP offers care that’s informed by your provider’s knowledge about your medical history and your overall health.

That’s why you’re instructed to follow up with your PCP if you receive emergency care or are seen in an urgent care setting. Your PCP can provide ongoing care related to whatever health concern you experienced.

That’s a great question. If you’re covered by insurance, the costs of care will depend on your plan’s specific parameters. In most cases, care is priced according to two factors: 1) the expediency of the care and 2) the complexity of care.

That means that emergency care is often quite pricey compared with other care settings. Your insurance copay or coinsurance is usually highest for emergency medicine services—and you’ll pay a higher cost out of pocket for emergency care, too.

Urgent care falls in the middle. Your costs under your insurance plan are probably below those for emergency care but above what it costs to see your primary care provider. The same is true if you’re paying out of pocket.

There’s also a cost in terms of time. While you should certainly seek emergency care if you’re experiencing life- or limb-threatening symptoms, you’ll often spend longer waiting for emergency care than you would at an urgent care facility because those with life-threatening symptoms are seen first. So, turn to an urgent care clinic or PCP for non-emergency symptoms.