Urgent care is an excellent choice when you have a non-emergency illness outside of primary care office hours or cannot get in to see your doctor. Urgent care is convenient and offers shorter wait times than a typical emergency room while providing effective care for a wide range of conditions. Your care shouldn’t end here, however. After urgent care, it is important to seek appropriate aftercare.
At State Urgent Care in Starkville, MS, our experienced clinical team will ensure you get the care you need. Simply walk in to see one of our excellent providers any day of the week.
What Is Aftercare?
Aftercare is simply the follow-up care you should have after an urgent care visit. Typically done with your primary care provider (PCP), family doctor, or specialist, urgent care aftercare helps ensure you are on the path to recovery and that any concerns or complications are addressed promptly.
Why Is Aftercare Important?
Getting follow-up care after an urgent care visit is essential and can benefit you in many ways.
Full Recovery
Visiting urgent care is a great first step in treating an illness. Aftercare is the next step.
For example, you may see an urgent care provider for a urinary tract infection and return home with a prescription for an antibiotic. It can take a little time for your infection to resolve, and seeking follow-up care can help ensure you’ve recovered fully and no further testing or treatment is needed.
Medication Changes
Depending on your illness and specific health situation, you may require a change to your medications after your urgent care visit. For example, if you’ve visited urgent care for asthma, it is important for your PCP to know this and to see you in the clinic soon afterward. You may require changes to your medication regimen to better manage your asthma. Following up with your PCP helps them ensure your asthma is well-controlled to prevent worsening symptoms.
Concerns Addressed
At an urgent care visit, new concerns might come up. For example, an urgent care provider might notice that your blood sugar is unusually high. If you have diabetes, your PCP should know this so they can take appropriate steps to help you control your blood sugar.
Maybe you’ve returned home after an urgent care visit but a few days later have some questions or concerns about your condition. Your primary care provider is an excellent person to discuss these with. They can help you navigate your recovery and manage any other health concerns.
What If I Skip Follow-Up Care?
After visiting urgent care, some may decide not to schedule follow-up care or may simply forget. Don’t make this mistake! Prioritizing your health is vitally important. Not making the time for necessary follow-up care can have dangerous consequences.
Unresolved Illness
Urgent care can effectively treat many illnesses. However, sometimes people may not recover fully after returning home, or complications of their illness might occur. Your PCP can discuss concerns, address complications, and ensure you heal fully.
Worsening of Chronic Conditions
If you have a chronic health condition, you should see a PCP or specialist regularly to ensure your condition is controlled and managed. Sometimes, an illness (ranging from the flu to pneumonia) can cause a chronic condition to flare up or worsen. Seeing your regular provider after an urgent care visit allows them to notice changes or make adjustments to your medications or other treatments.
Lack of Continuity
Keeping your primary care provider in the loop regarding your health is essential. By knowing the full trajectory of your health, they can help promote your overall wellness, detect concerning changes, and manage chronic conditions. To do all this, your PCP needs to know what’s going on with your health.
Follow-up after a State Urgent Care Visit
When you experience a sudden illness, our experienced providers and clinical staff are ready to provide the treatment you need. After your visit, we can also help you navigate aftercare. From ensuring your provider gets the necessary records to coordinating referrals to a specialist, we can come alongside you to ensure you get the follow-up care you need after your urgent care visit.