Although urgent care centers are seeing high growth rates, there is still confusion regarding their role, offered services, and what types of medical conditions they can treat. In their confusion, patients directly drive down to the nearest care center that isn’t appropriate for their condition. As a result, they face unnecessary troubles like longer wait times, appointment issues and a higher medical bill.
You can avoid these troubles by visiting an urgent care center near you for emergency health situations that need immediate care but are not life-threatening. At FCCMG Urgent Care Centers, we take care of a wide variety of urgent medical conditions.
Keep reading this blog to get answers to all the questions that you may have about an urgent care center, and how it is different from a primary care center or emergency room.
An urgent care center is a place where non-life threatening but, serious health conditions that require immediate attention, are treated. Urgent care centers are staffed by physicians, physician’s assistants and nurses, and they have more flexible hours.
Any full-fledged urgent care center should provide necessary medical services like first aid, medical consultation, and sometimes proper medication. Shorter wait times without an appointment is also a unique aspect of urgent cares. At FCCMG urgent care facilities, we offer all these, and we also have an on-site lab and X-ray facilities for a proper medical checkup so that all your treatment needs are met at one place.
Our urgent care centers are staffed by experienced physicians who can treat a wide variety of moderate to severe, but non-life threatening medical conditions, including:
Visit our Woodbridge urgent care, Fountain Valley Urgent Care, and Costa Mesa Urgent Care pages for more information.
Urgent care centers are typically open the entire day. However, unlike emergency rooms, urgent cares are usually not open overnight. That"s because the situations that urgent care deals with are not life-threatening. FCCMG urgent care practices are open 8 AM to 8 PM on weekdays, and 8 AM to 5 PM on Saturday and Sunday.
Yes. Cuts that are not too deep can be treated and stitched at an urgent care center. Shorter wait times, affordability, highly skilled medical teams, and extended business hours are what make urgent care the place to go for small and medium cuts that require stitches.
While insurance providers usually cover urgent care, it’s up to the urgent care centers to choose whether to accept your insurance. At FCCMG, we accept a wide variety of insurance plans that include Medicare, covered CA plans from Blue Cross, Health Net and some Blue Shield Products. You can check if we accept your insurance plan by calling us prior to your visit, or by asking your insurance provider.
Urgent cares and primary care centers both have different purposes. A primary care center plays an important role in your long-term health. They have access to your medical records that help them in managing any chronic condition over time. Whereas, an urgent care center only deals with any urgent medical condition. That"s why urgent cares usually have a walk-in culture; they do not require any prior appointment and have longer business hours.
The dilemma about choosing an urgent care vs. emergency room is common primarily because of the two contributing reasons: similarity of names (“urgent” care and “emergency” room), and the involved treatment cost.
The confusion about names leads many to believe that urgent cares should also provide similar treatment facilities as those of an emergency room (ER), which is not true.
Emergency rooms are for tackling life-threatening conditions, such as major injuries, severe wounds, coughing up or vomiting blood, severe shortness of breath, signs of stroke and heart attack, etc. ERs contain all the necessary equipment and the expert team needed to save a life. Urgent care centers are for treating less severe conditions (check above in this article) that may require immediate attention but are not what you may call life-threatening.
If you are concerned about the treatment cost, urgent care centers are usually substantially less expensive given the medical condition is something that they can treat. We also recommend assessing the exact reason for a sudden health condition to determine the best option for yourself.
At FCCMG urgent care centers, we have got you covered for all your urgent care medical needs. Call us at (949) 265-0442 for our Irvine location, (714) 594-7268 for our Fountain Valley location, and (714) 316-7826 for our Costa Mesa location.
Dr. Bunten is originally from Huntington Beach, CA. He attended high school in Tokyo, Japan, went to college at UC San Diego and then to medical school in the Midwest. He returned home to California for residency training in Family Medicine at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. His immediate family all reside in Huntington Beach.
Dr Fishbein has been in the practice of family medicine for over 35 years in Irvine. He received his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University, medical degree from Chicago Medical School, and completed his family medicine residency at Memorial Hospital of Long Beach.
Dr. Kim is the Medical Director of Family Care Centers, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Hoag Hospital, and a recipient of the Physicians of Excellence award from the Orange County Medical Association. He is Board Certified in Family Medicine, and has been practicing in our community for over 20 years.
Dr. Memon is a board certified Family Medicine physician and recently completed her fellowship in Geriatrics at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center. She attended Saint George’s University, School of Medicine and completed her residency at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. Her interest in medicine started at an early age and has since evolved into a passionate career.
Dr. Gina Nguyen obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at UC Irvine where she graduated Suma Cum Laude. She went to USC Keck School of Medicine, and returned to UC Irvine for a Family Medicine Residency. Since 2005, she worked at Kaiser Permanente, VNCOC, and Family Care Center Urgent Care.
Dr. Williams is Board Certified in Family Medicine and Sports Medicine. He is a native to Orange County and returned home after completing his medical degree at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. After completing his residency in family practice he successfully completed a fellowship in sports medicine.
Dr. Hye Lee is a board-certified Family Practice Physician, affiliated with the American Osteopathic Association and the American College of Osteopathic Family Practice.She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at UC Riverside and earned her medical degree from Des Moines University Osteopathic Medical Center. Afterward, she did her internship at Downey Regional Medical Center in California and has been a primary care physician since 2005.
Dr. Coyne is a board certified family practice physician and a California native. He completed his undergraduate degree at UCLA before earning his medical degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Dr Coyne spent 6 years in the US Air Force at Andrews and Luke Air Force bases, eventually separating as a Major. He enjoys working with patients of all ages.”
Dr. Jay Friehling is a Family Practice physician who has worked in Orange County since 1981. Born in Florida, he received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and then earned a Medical Degree at the New York Medical College.” His healthcare interests include Diabetes, Geriatric Care, and Hospice Care.
Dr. Jennifer Shoquist is board certified in Family Medicine. Her special interest is woman’s health and her practice accepts patients from 6 years old to seniors. Dr. Shoquist received her M.D. degree at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston in Houston, Texas, and did her residency with Memorial Family Practice at memorial Southwest Hospital in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Tom is a board certified family medicine physician and native Californian. He received his bachelors of science with great distinction in biochemistry and honors in chemistry. Dr. Tom was awarded a Regents Scholarship to attend medical school at UC Irvine.
Dr. Yan attended Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her Family Practice residency at Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, California. She joined Family Care Center in 2001. She chose Family Practice because she enjoys working with a wide variety of people and because it provides a unique opportunity for continuing care.
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