FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - How can patients know when is time to go to urgent care, see a primary care provider, or head to the hospital’s emergency department?  In this week’s interview, I sat down with Doctor Michael Klug from Community Urgent Care to get some insights. Click here for more MedWatch Today Click here for Community Medical Centers' homepage Q: CannonIf you could give somebody who watches this a takeaway nugget and say, here's how you decide if you go to primary care, urgent care, the hospital, what would be your guidance to them? A: KlugSo, I think that primary role has a great responsibility of seeing chronic illnesses. For us, however, we can see patients much more quickly. So, sometimes people have UTIs. Instead of waiting two or three days for their primary care doctor, they can walk in, get urinalysis, and they get the treatment that they need. It is similar with lacerations; that can't be squeezed in at your primary care physician to come over here to get treated as well. Q: CannonHow do you know when that's on you guys versus it's better if you go to an emergency room? A: KlugUsually, if patients have chest pain with shortness of breath or they have numbness through their face, their extremities, slurred speech, things of that nature, of course trauma, then they go to the emergency room as opposed to urgent care. Q: CannonBut some people don't know that. Or maybe they don't even have that option in an emergency. They make a snap decision. They end up with you guys. What's your role then? A: KlugWe see them very quickly. If there's any emergent issue, I'll go to the lobby, take them back to the room, try to address that as fast as we can and call the ambulance as well. Q: CannonWeekend warrior injuries. Is that you? A: KlugExactly. Yeah. I’ve seen a patient, she was hiking two miles, thought she sprained an ankle. Happened to be fractured, so she was definitely a warrior in her own right. Q: CannonSo then what happens? Because that's going to probably need a cast. It's going to need a follow-up. So you again, serve a function, but probably that's going to end up going somewhere else. A: KlugUsually, we have extra capabilities in clinic and so we can X-ray them, we can put them in walking boot. We have crutches here also. And actually in that capacity, I do a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. Q: CannonWhat would you say would be kind of the biggest advantage you see to urgent care? A: KlugThe great thing is that very small wait time. So, usually we get them in and out pretty quickly and just manage their situation, instead of going to the hospital and having to wait several hours to be seen. We can address and assess their illness quicker.