Medical professionals working in an ER have 24/7 access to all vital resources a hospital can offer to provide the best emergency care possible: diagnostic tests, on-site specialists, surgical rooms/procedures, pharmacy, and life-saving equipment. In most cases, people are treated in order of how sick they are—a concept known as “Triage” in the ER. 

Knowing when to seek emergency care can be a difficult decision to make, but Dr. Brian Lee, a medical director of the Emergency Care Center at Providence St. Joseph Hospital stresses there are clear reasons to seek treatment in the ER over urgent care clinics or your primary care physician. Poisoning, overdose, mental breakdowns, heart attacks, strokes, major injuries involving the head or spine, and severe pain are causes to seek immediate medical attention. This is because of the severity of the issues and the need for emergent life-saving measures in many instances. 

But it’s also not that simple. Medical history, too, needs to be considered in the decision, as a mild and common symptom in cancer or heart transplant patient is much more serious than it is for most people.