When to Call, Click, or Rush to the ER: Understanding Your Medical Care Options

Confused about when to use telehealth versus rushing to the emergency room? You're not alone. This eye-opening discussion cuts through the healthcare maze to explain exactly when to click, call, or drive depending on your medical situation.

The healthcare landscape has transformed dramatically, with telehealth emerging as a powerful alternative to traditional care. Kelli and Nicole, board-certified family nurse practitioners, share their expert insights on navigating the three distinct tiers of medical care: urgent, acute, and emergent. They explain how telehealth excels at handling non-life-threatening conditions like sinus infections, UTIs, and medication refills that would otherwise clog emergency waiting rooms or require lengthy waits at primary care offices.

Beyond the convenience factor, they explore the practical limitations of virtual medicine—when symptoms persist or worsen, when physical examinations become necessary, and when certain warning signs demand immediate in-person attention. The discussion also spotlights freestanding emergency rooms as an innovative middle ground that offers emergency-level care without the typical hospital wait times. Their professional guidance helps listeners recognize the telltale signs that should trigger an immediate ER visit: chest pain, shortness of breath, and stroke symptoms demand emergency attention, not telehealth consultation.

Have questions about whether your specific situation can be handled virtually? The hosts invite listeners to reach out through their platform for free guidance on determining the appropriate level of care. Follow, subscribe, and visit hamiltontelehealth.com to learn more about maximizing your healthcare options while saving time, money, and unnecessary stress during medical situations.

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Transcript

Welcome and Disclaimer

Speaker 1 0:15

Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of tattoos and telehealth. I am Kelly White and this is my great friend and colleague, nicole Baldwin, and we are both board certified family nurse practitioners. And before we get started, our lawyers always make us say this episode does not constitute a patient provider relationship. This also does not constitute any type of medical advice. This is just a couple of friends. We're chatting it up, talking about some things that may or may not be beneficial. We always recommend that you visit with your primary provider, who knows you best. So if you have any questions, we are always happy to talk about them. If you want to throw your comments, questions in the chat box below, always like subscribe, follow us, but, as always, check with your primary provider before you institute anything that we talk about.

Speaker 1 0:58

So today I want to visit a little bit about the big differences in telemedicine. So, as the world of telemedicine continues to grow, nicole, we're starting to see a big influx of people that have realized telemedicine can be accessed for a lot of things. But, having said that, there are three very, very specific pieces of medicine. So there's acute care, there is urgent care and there is emergent care, and so, really quickly, I want you to take us through what, in your world, in the world of telemedicine, is acute care versus what is urgent. This is not necessarily a trip to the ER, but maybe probably a little bit more significant needs to be seen in person. And then don't pass, don't collect $200, go straight to the ER.

When In-Person Care Becomes Necessary

Speaker 2 1:41

Okay, so urgent care is designed for non-life-threatening conditions that still need prompt attention. These are going to be things like sinus infections, utis that are very simple, just starting, things that we can bridge that. You would usually maybe call your primary and say, hey, can I come in today and see Just simple infections. Acute care is more like a bone fracture, things like that, where somebody needs to be seen in person, somebody really needs to need an x-ray, you're going to need imaging, things like that. But very, very similar to urgent care, that is Urgent care. Emergency care is the things that are life-threatening conditions serious injuries, things like that Shortness of breath, chest pain, acute trauma, things like that. That it's just not going to be wise to even wait for a telehealth provider. Even if it's right now, it's still beyond what we were able to do, the limitations of telehealth. So with telehealth we can provide a ton of things. Because the ERs are packed, the most sick are getting back first, which they should. If you're in the waiting room, consider yourself blessed.

Speaker 2 2:50

But telehealth can help with a lot of the urgent things. A lot of the urgent things. I need a refill on my blood pressure medication. I'm not feeling well. I'm nauseous, I have a sinus infection. I am just not feeling well overall. I think I have the flu, things like that is certainly an urgent care where it's not necessarily life-threatening right now, but you definitely need to be seen by somebody and that's where the telehealth falls. We can keep you out of the emergency room and keep you even out of urgent care, but it is important to utilize the urgent cares the in-person acute care and emergency care in the right way and just to make sure that you don't want to go and wait in an emergency room for hours and hours over a sinus infection. But a telehealth visit or an urgent care facility would be much quicker and in most cases telehealth is way cheaper, depending on your insurance.

Speaker 1 3:43

And a lot of times we'll even say, when you come to see us via telehealth, if you have something that's recurrent this has gone on a couple times. We may still pump you to go back and see that walk-in clinic not necessarily the ER but we may say it's time to go be seen in person because we need someone to lay hands on you, we need someone to check your urine, we need someone to listen to your lungs, we need someone to check your kidneys. There's just limitations in this world where it may have started out as a simple UTI, it may have started out as a simple sinus infection, ear infection, strep, throat, but now it's turning into something that you're coming back. Weeks have passed and you're still not getting better.

Freestanding ERs as Middle Ground

Speaker 1 4:21

While it's still not an emergency, nicole or I may say it's time to go be seen in person. And we're not doing that to be ugly, we're not doing that to say we can't help you. We're just saying this now has transitioned into something just a little bit more acute and we need you to go be seen in person. And that's why those walk-in clinics, urgent care clinics, can become very, very beneficial. In that next step. We're still trying to keep you out of the hospital, but those times become very necessary.

Speaker 2 4:49

Even hospital, but those times become very necessary. Even now there's at least in my state, and I'm sure maybe it's in your state too, I don't know, but they're doing these freestanding ERs now where it's just it's not a whole hospital, it's just a freestanding ER, and we had to use one. My husband and I had to use one a couple of years ago and it was so much faster. It was so much faster than the regular hospital, and so those are great. Those are great for those in between things. They will transport you to a bigger hospital if it's warranted, but those are a great pit stop in between.

Speaker 2 5:17

I'm not really sure. Go to the free, go to a freestanding. They have capabilities and if things like if you need a specialist or anything like that, they will certainly transport you in most cases to a larger facility, just like any hospital. If you go to a small rural hospital, if they don't have your specialty on staff, they'll transfer you to another hospital that does, and so it's kind of similar in that way. But a lot of times they can do a lot of things. I know I've had some relatives go there and they've just been maybe severely dehydrated. They keep them for four to six hours, give them fluids, have them follow up, whatever. But it's been able to keep them out of the free, out of the, out of the big ERs and it's been so much, so much nicer experience that, because you're not just waiting in a waiting room with a bunch of sick people.

Speaker 1 6:01

For sure, and I also think that it helps to bridge that gap. Still, you have those freestanding ers and it just doesn't feel like you're having to quote unquote go to the hospital. You still get that emergency medicine without feeling like I'm going to the hospital.

Speaker 2 6:16

I really like that concept so there's health, which is for most things, most most things and then there is your walk-in urgent care, right, which is for the little bit more, things that may need an x-ray, or maybe things that aren't really urgent, things that aren't emergent right, things that aren't emergent. And then things that are emergent you can go to through the freestanding or you can go to the big hospital. Either one of those is going to be a great option.

When to Seek Emergency Care

Speaker 2 6:43

Whatever's closest to you in an emergent situation, go there Whatever's closest to you. But telehealth can take a lot of the load off of waiting for primary care and just waiting in those in those ERs, when urgent care sometimes can get super busy too. So it's just a good idea just to at least explore it. But anytime you have stroke symptoms, shortness of breath, chest pain, any similar or anything like that, definitely seek emergency care, and that is not through telehealth or urgent care facility.

Speaker 1 7:12

And always a good rule of thumb. Nicole and I are always here to answer any questions you guys have. Our team is on standby to answer your questions. If you're just unsure, you can always chat in, create a quick profile and let the team know hey, this is what's going on, can you guys take care of this, or do I need to go be seen? They're really great to pop in and say, no, you should probably go be seen in person, or hey, nicole or Kelly can take care of that, and so it's quick, it's something that we don't mind doing. You're not gonna pay for that opinion. It is just an opinion for us to say, no, you need to go be seen, or yeah, and so it's always easy to ask those questions.

Closing and Contact Information

Speaker 1 7:45

Guys, if you have any concerns, just let us know. As always, we're here to take care of you. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, please just comment below. Subscribe, give us a follow. You can find us at hamiltontelehealthcom. If anybody has any concerns, please just hop in. We're happy to have you here and we look forward to talking to you again soon.

Speaker 2 8:04

Thanks for joining us have.