In emergency medicine, it’s called the golden hour. The first hour from the time of injury or serious illness is the most important in a person’s life. It’s in that hour that a person has the best chance of survival—if they can get to the level of care they need.
But not every medical problem needs to be addressed by the emergency department, and some are inappropriate for that space.
The most common alternative to a full-blown emergency room visit is the urgent care center, but they are not created equal, and the services offered at these facilities can run the gamut….