Emergency Room vs Urgent Care

Urgent Care typically treats non-life-threatening conditions, some of which include common colds, allergies, sprains, lacerations and more.

An Emergency Room treats conditions in need of immediate attention, some of which include chest pain, abdominal pain, dehydration, complex fractures and much more.

Selecting the right facility can make a big difference in the financial outcome of your visit. When choosing an ER for treatment but you are not experiencing an emergency means you will substantially overpay for your treatment. If you choose urgent care but you need an Emergency Room, you will also add additional unnecessary cost, but more importantly possibly waste valuable time being transferred to a facility that is capable of treating your condition.

We wanted to solve this problem so we created UF Health Emergency & Urgent Care, where both paths of care were under one roof. Each facility is equipped to handle the seriousness of any emergency while being able to bill if it turns out to be lower acuity needs at urgent care billing rates. This means that as a patient you do not have to try to self-triage on where to go when you need care. The answer is to always choose UF Health Emergency & Urgent Care and know your bill will reflect only the care you require to treat your condition. Why is this significant? Because 44% – 65% of national ER visits could have been treated and billed at urgent care rates, but weren’t.

Learn more about When To Come.