The Case For Urgent Care Clinics In The United States

 

Finding reputable health care can be difficult if you live in the United States, particularly if you lead a very busy life (as many of us do) or are uninsured and do not have medical insurance (as far too many people are not able to obtain and must go without). In such cases, it can prove to be challenging to schedule an appointment with a general care practitioner during regular office hours. In such cases, many people end up going to the emergency room even for minor concerns, which is not only far from an efficient use of time but can also be hugely expensive.

Fortunately, the prevalence and popularity of the urgent care clinic is growing all throughout the United States. Urgent care clinics and other such medical clinics have a total of more than three million people in the span of just one week. With more than twenty thousand doctors currently operating in an urgent care clinic in the United States, affordable medical care is more accessible than ever before, providing a viable alternative to the emergency room when it comes to minor – and even moderate to severe – medical concerns.

An urgent care clinic can be ideal for those who are not able to take time off of work to go in to see a doctor, as the vast of majority urgent care locations are open every single day of the week. This means that people are able to seek out medical treatment on weekends, when most doctor’s offices are closed or only open for a few hours (typically on a Saturday). Urgent care centers are also likely to be open earlier in the morning as well as later in the evening, making it possible to go in after work – or, in the case of pediatric urgent care for minor concerns, after you child has gone to school, preventing you from needing to take time off of work in order to take them to the doctor.

And the typical urgent care clinic is able to treat a wide variety of injuries and illnesses. Typical urgent care services include flu testing, STD testing, and even pregnancy testing for a fraction of the cost that you would find in the emergency room or even in a more traditional doctor’s office (such as a general care practitioner). They will also often provide preventative medical care like flu shots all throughout flu season, allowing people to keep themselves from getting sick to the very best of their ability.

Minor and major injuries are also treated in urgent care locations. Ankle sprains, of which around twenty five thousand occur every single day in the United States, can be properly assessed and treated in an urgent care clinic location. If the injury is more severe, such as minor to moderate fracture, the vast majority of urgent care clinics will also be able to care for it adequately. In fact, around eighty percent of all urgent care centers have been approved to diagnose and then treat fractures.

For those looking for cheap and fast medical care, an urgent care clinic provides the solution. An urgent care clinic can provide the same medical care as a general care practitioner – and often even the same care as an emergency room location. In fact, statistics show that most cases seen in a hospital emergency room could have been just as easily treated in an urgent care clinic – for a fraction of the overall cost and wait time (which, in the typical urgent care clinic, is only around fifteen minutes maximum).