3 Ways an Urgent Care Physician Is Different from a Primary Care Physician

You’ve likely gone to your primary care physician for years, and trust him to offer the advice and care you need to stay healthy and happy. While it’s important to build a relationship with your primary doctor and to schedule regular checkups, there are times when you should visit your local Orange County urgent care center instead. How can you decide which is the better option? You need to know the difference between what an urgent care physician offers and what a primary care physician offers. Here are three ways they are different, as well as tips to help you decide which option is the best for your situation.
1. Urgent Care Physicians Offer Flexible Hours. Most urgent care centers offer evening, weekend, and holiday hours, and that means if something happens during these off-peak times you can see an urgent care physician right away—without making an appointment.
Primary care physicians typically don’t offer services during these times, so if you happen to get sick or injured on Saturday or Sunday, you won’t be able to see your doctor until the following Monday, at the very earliest.
2. Urgent Care Physicians Can See You Without an Appointment. Often you’ll have to wait days or weeks to get an appointment with your primary care physician, while urgent care centers like our Orange County clinic offer same-day care. In fact, 65 percent of urgent care centers have a physician on staff at all times. That means if you have a bladder infection or a minor cut, we can get you in to see a doctor and back to good health as soon as possible, even if your primary care physician is booked and can’t fit you in for several days.
3. Urgent Care Physicians Can Treat a Broad Range of Illnesses. If you come down with a non-life threatening illness but can’t wait days or weeks to see your primary doctor, an urgent care physician like the ones at our Costa Mesa medical clinic can quickly get you on the road to health. Our physicians can treat a variety of conditions that require immediate attention, but which aren’t serious enough for a trip to the ER, from minor burns, to the stomach flu, to sprained ankles.
While your primary care physician can likely treat these conditions as well, you’ll receive treatment much faster if you visit your Orange County urgent care center.
Visiting a Physician at Xpress Urgent Care
We understand that injuries and illnesses can happen at any time of the day or year. Sometimes you just can’t wait to see your primary care physician for treatment, yet your condition isn’t serious enough to warrant the time and money you’d spend visiting the Emergency Room. That’s where your Orange County medical center comes in. We offer weekend, evening, and holiday hours, and have physicians who can quickly provide the treatment you need for a variety of acute illnesses and injuries.
We are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays. For more information about Xpress Urgent Care or our physicians, stop by our office or call us at 949-548-8400.