Emergency Room vs Urgent Care

Urgent Care typically treats non-life-threatening illnesses, injuries, and conditions that are not severe enough to require the emergency room. These conditions include common colds, allergies, fever, sprains, lacerations, and more.

An Emergency Room treats conditions needing immediate attention for acute illnesses and injuries, including; chest pain, abdominal pain, dehydration, complex fractures and much more.

Deciding where to go when you need care can impact your visit's financial outcome. If you choose to go to a hospital ER for your care, but you are not experiencing an emergency, you will substantially overpay for your treatment. If you decide to get treated at urgent care, but you need an Emergency Room, you can also end up with additional cost, but more importantly, lose valuable time being transferred to an ER that can treat you.

Bayhealth Emergency and Urgent Care Center, Total Care combined model fills the gap between urgent and emergency care, offering all patients clarity about where to go without risking an ER visit's unintended financial and emotional consequences. Each facility is fully equipped to handle the seriousness of any emergency while being able to bill for lower acuity needs at urgent care billing rates. As a patient, you no longer have to self-triage on where to go when you or your loved one is ill or injured. Now you can go to Bayhealth Total Care 24/7 ER & Urgent Care and know you will be billed for the level of care your condition requires. This is significant because 44% – 65% of national ER visits could have been treated and billed at urgent care rates, but weren't. At Bayhealth Emergency and Urgent Care Center, Total Care about 70% of our patients are billed as urgent care.