A Higher Level of Care The Benefits of Urgent Care Clinics

 

There has been a rapid change in the field of American healthcare over the past few years as more and more urgent care clinics seem to be popping up in neighborhoods across the nation. While many may see this as an unnecessary addition to an already crowded healthcare industry, there are many benefits that urgent care locations can bring to the table.

Faster Attention

There are far things worse than waiting in a doctor’s office or an emergency for a medical professional to examine you; unfortunately it is estimated that ER patients waited an average of 42 minutes before being seen with numbers increasing each year. Urgent care is called so because of the remarkably short wait times that patients experience; around 60% of all urgent care centers have a wait time of less than 15 minutes and around 80% of visits are concluded within an hour. These decreased wait times allow nearly one out of every five urgent care clinics to see over 450 patients every week!

Extended Hours

Since most doctors offices offer only weekday hours, many of those who suffer from an ailment have little choice but to go to the emergency room for treatment — at the ER patients have experienced long wait times and overinflated bills for things as trivial as tissues and aspirin. To fill the void many urgent care clinics offer extended hours as late as 9 pm if not later. Over 66% of all urgent care clinics open before 9 am on weekdays and many continue to do so over the weekend. In conjunction with their lower prices, many people have chosen urgent care facilities and have been happy with the quality of care they received.

Professional Care

The skeptical mind may be wondering where the fault is with urgent care; in truth over half of all urgent care facilities are owned by physicians or a group of doctors looking to change the field of American healthcare. For this reason, urgent care facilities are stocked to handle a wide array of medical needs with professional staff. Around 70% of urgent care centers are able to provide their patients with intravenous fluids as needed and 80% of centers can provide care for fractures, breaks, and sprains. Right now around 40% of centers are also utilizing an electronic prescription ordering system that allows urgent care physicians to view lab and imaging results, collect patient demographics, handle billing, and keep clinical notes. For those looking for a medical provider that places patient care as the only priority, consider visiting a neighborhood urgent care center the next time you are feeling unwell.