Should I go to a walk-in clinic, primary care, or ER?
For minor, non-life-threatening injuries or illnesses, Sound Family Medicine’s walk-in clinics are an affordable alternative to the emergency room. The walk-in clinic is to treat acute illness that need same day attention. Our primary care physicians are here to care for you for routine care, monitor your health, and address health concerns that do not need to be addressed immediately.
The emergency room should be visited for serious or life-threatening medical issues. In Washington State, out-of-pocket ER costs are approximately eight times that of walk-in / urgent care clinics. Additionally, insurance companies have recently considered charging more for non-emergent ER visits.
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What type of care do you need?
The chart below provides standard recommendations and does not account for age, gender, medical history, or any preexisting conditions. When evaluating your level of pain, our ratings go from 1 (low) to 10 (high).
| I need to see the doctor because of: | Visit the Walk-in Clinic | Make an appointment with primary care provider | Visit the Emergency Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abdominal (stomach) pain level 1-4 | ✓ | ||
| Abdominal (stomach) pain, level 5-10 | ✓ | ||
| Allergies | ✓ | ||
| Arthritis, chronic | ✓ | ||
| Asthma attack, severe | ✓ | ||
| Asthma, chronic | ✓ | ||
| Bite, insect | ✓ | ||
| Bite, animal | ✓ | ||
| Bleeding, uncontrollable | ✓ | ||
| Breathing difficulty | ✓ | ||
| Burns (no blisters) | ✓ | ||
| Burns (large blisters) | ✓ | ||
| Chest pain (sudden onset, crushing pain) | ✓ | ||
| Circumcision | ✓ | ||
| Cold | ✓ | ||
| Controlled medication | ✓ | ||
| COPD, chronic | ✓ | ||
| Cough | ✓ | ||
| Cuts | ✓ | ||
| Dehydration | ✓ | ||
| Dehydration with fever (not tolerating fluids) | ✓ | ||
| Diabetes, chronic | ✓ | ||
| Diarrhea | ✓ | ||
| Earache | ✓ | ||
| Fainting (new onset with loss of consciousness) | ✓ | ||
| Fever | ✓ | ||
| Fever in infants under 2 years old | ✓ | ||
| Fever, high with change in alertness | ✓ | ||
| Fluoride treatment | ✓ | ||
| FMLA paperwork | ✓ | ||
| Head Injury, loss of consciousness | ✓ | ||
| Head Injury, no loss of consciousness | ✓ | ||
| Headache | ✓ | ||
| Headache, sudden onset | ✓ | ||
| Heart disease, chronic | ✓ | ||
| Hypertension, chronic | ✓ | ||
| Ingestion of poison | ✓ | ||
| IUD placement/removal | ✓ | ||
| Medicare Annual Wellness Exam | ✓ | ||
| Medication refill/follow-up | ✓ | ||
| Migraine | ✓ | ||
| Nausea | ✓ | ||
| Pap smear | ✓ | ||
| Physicals | ✓ | ||
| Physicals - DOT | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Physicals - FAA | ✓ | ||
| Pink eye | ✓ | ||
| Pneumonia | ✓ | ||
| Pre-Diet Visit | ✓ | ||
| Prenatal and pregnancy concerns | ✓ | ||
| Prescription Refills | ✓ | ||
| Pre-Surgery Visit | ✓ | ||
| Rash | ✓ | ||
| Referrals | ✓ | ||
| Removal of warts, moles, skin lesions | ✓ | ||
| Seizures | ✓ | ||
| Sore Throat | ✓ | ||
| Sports Physicals | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Sprains/Strains | ✓ | ||
| Stitches | ✓ | ||
| Stomach Pain | ✓ | ||
| Support animal paperwork | ✓ | ||
| Testicular Pain | ✓ | ||
| Unconscious or unresponsive state | ✓ | ||
| Urinary Tract Infection | ✓ | ||
| Vomiting | ✓ | ||
| Well-child visits | ✓ |
