Transcription:
Immediate Care or Emergency Room - Where Should I Go?

Helen Berdebes (Host): Welcome to the Well Within Reach Podcast. I'm your host, Helen Berdebes. And today, we are going to be talking about when you should visit an immediate care versus the emergency room. Here to help us out with learning more on the specifics about what gets treated where, is Kaitlyn Chiero, the Lead Physician Assistant in the Emergency Medicine at Riverside. Welcome Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn Chiero, PA-C, MPAS (Guest): Thanks for having me, Helen.

Host: Absolutely. It's great having you here on the podcast. Let's start out by having you tell us a little bit more about your background.

Kaitlyn: So I've been a Physician Assistant at Riverside in the emergency room for the last eight years. I love working there. I train a lot of the PAs and NPs that come through the emergency room, and see a lot of variety of things.

Host: Awesome. That's great. So you've seen a lot, you've worked here for awhile and you kind of know where to go, what to do. And that's what we're going to dive into a little more here. So, I want to start by asking you what is immediate care? Let's cover that first.

Kaitlyn: So, immediate care is very helpful when you need to be seen for a medical condition within a fairly quick timeframe. You don't necessarily need to wait for a week or so to see your primary doctor. Different than your routine WellCare and your preventative medicine.

Host: Cool. Yeah, that totally makes sense. And so what kind of things would you say are treated generally at the immediate cares?

Kaitlyn: Injuries are, I would say are the most common. Those usually need to be seen fairly quickly. The immediate cares are open longer hours. They take people on a walk-in basis. So, if you have an injury or an illness, something that comes up unexpectedly, those are great reasons to, to seek care at any of our immediate cares.

Host: Cool. Awesome. And so how would that differ from what you generally see in the emergency room?

Kaitlyn: The emergency room is best for life-threatening conditions. Heart attacks are big, definitely go to the emergency room for chest pain, strokes, severe illnesses, anything that could potentially be life threatening.

Host: Sure. So immediate care, something comes up, it's maybe after hours, fever spikes, or, you know, you hurt yourself, obviously not emergency room level of hurt, but you know, you, you hurt your finger. You need to get that checked out. Immediate care is great, but then emergency rooms they're for those life-threatening things.

Kaitlyn: Correct.

Host: Cool. And like, what would you say the costs associated with the two are?

Kaitlyn: Definitely higher cost at the emergency room due to the level of care that is, that is typically needed. Urgent care, immediate care tends to be more cost effective, a little bit more in lines with what a primary doctor's office, outpatient office would cost.

Host: Sure. And so when people are assessing their situation, how would you tell them that it's best to decide which location is best for them at the moment?

Kaitlyn: If there's anything that they are concerned is potentially life-threatening, definitely come to the emergency room. That's what we're there for. If there's something that they want to be seen today, something that's acute, but maybe isn't necessarily life-threatening; that would be great for the immediate care.

Host: Good. It's good to know. I just know a lot of people have been having questions about that lately. Not sure where to go, what to do. So, that's great to know. Our listeners might be wondering about the actual specific details, you know, what do they go to the immediate care for? And are there any age restrictions or things like that? Could you give us some details on that?

Kaitlyn: Definitely. So, anybody, 18 months and older can come to the immediate care. They treat a variety of things, including fevers, coughs and colds, injuries, sutures, and they also offer school sports and work physicals. So, they cover a variety of things and there's also a variety of locations. So, you should be able to find an immediate care that's close to you.

Host: So, also right now, there are a lot of questions with COVID going on. Where the best place to go for getting tested is versus when you would need to go to the ER, if you would need that. So could you shed some light on that for us?

Kaitlyn: Definitely. If you're just looking for a COVID test, say you need to travel or you've been exposed to somebody with COVID, there's lots of outpatient testing sites, and that doesn't really require you to see a provider, a doctor, or a PA or NP. If you are concerned that you have COVID and you're ill with any shortness of breath, dizziness, you know, weakness, anything that needs medical care, definitely come to the emergency room for us to take care of you.

Host: Got it. So, definitely there are places in the area we can get our tests. I think certain immediate cares, you can get tested at as well as other facilities. But then going to the ER is only if your symptoms get severe, need to be checked out. And it's always good probably to check with your primary care provider. Right? If you have any questions on, on where you should be going?

Kaitlyn: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. And if you just need a test, the primary care can order that for you at our outpatient sites. And they're also a good, good referral. They can kind of screen you over the phone when you call, go over your symptoms and decide where you should be seen if you need some assistance.

Host: Awesome. Is there anything else that you feel like is really important to address with this topic?

Kaitlyn: And, in light to COVID, definitely everybody stay safe, get vaccinated and boosted, if you're able, wear your mask, wash your hands, distance. And if you develop symptoms, look for a way to get the test, stay home and stay away from others.

Host: Great. So, I think that shed a lot of light on when you should go to the ER versus immediate care, what they are, what they treat. And so that's been really great. Thanks for being here with us today, Kaitlyn. Thank you to our listeners for tuning in to the Well Within Reach Podcast. We hope this discussion helped you out and, if you need to go to an immediate care, you don't need an appointment at all. You can check in ahead of time and check out our wait times on our, My Riverside App or at riversidehealthcare.org/IC, that's I-C as in immediate care. Thanks again to everyone for tuning in today and have a great day.

Kaitlyn: Thanks for having me Helen.