Urgent Care ClinicsAn Excellent Alternative to the Emergency Room

There are times when an incident or occurrence will make it necessary for someone to find the nearest walk in clinic. This is a medical clinic that is available for patients whose need is not serious enough for a visit to the emergency room, but is enough to need immediate care without waiting for a doctor’s appointment.

Most urgent care centers, up to 85%, are open every Monday through Sunday, seven days a week. This makes it easy for people to receive the care they need when they need it. Often, when someone suffers a sports injury, say, on a Saturday or Sunday, rather than spend hours waiting to be seen at the emergency room, the nearest walk in clinic is a better choice. The wait to be seen at an urgent care clinic is typically shorter, which makes a visit to one of these locations much easier for the patient. Fracture care is offered by four out of five medical care clinics.

Most medical walk in clinics provide care for typical viral infections as well as non-serious wounds and sprains. According to a study done in 2012, the most treated complaints at a medical walk in clinic were upper respiratory infections and wounds that needed treatment. Care is provided often for fractures and sprains; however, patients would need to go elsewhere for any follow up treatment or physical therapy that might be required.

Parents who need after hours urgent care for their children will typically visit a local emergency room. However, for late night care of a non-urgent nature, many parents will choose the services of the nearest walk in clinic. Children with a respiratory or even intestinal viral infections will often experience worsening symptoms late at night, when it is impossible to see the child’s pediatrician. As long as the symptoms are not of a serious nature, a local walk in clinic does just fine. These types of care facilities operate in nearly every town and city and are usually easy to locate. They do take most types of medical insurance, and, for individuals who have no health insurance, most of these clinics will charge on a sliding scale, according to the patient’s income, making it a convenient choice for everyone.

Many local doctors will also spend time treating patients at local walk in clinics as well. Statistics show that there are about 20,000 doctors practicing urgent care medicine. The Urgent Care Association of America reports that three million patients use the services of urgent care facilities every week. Taking advantage of these services has become a very helpful and convenient way of addressing non-life threatening illnesses and injuries. Most people who have had to visit a hospital emergency room at any time will attest to the fact that the wait to be seen is usually upwards of one hour.

All in all, local medical walk in clinics have become a frequently used, convenient way to address many medical issues, not to mention their affordability. Medical personnel and patients alike find this type of service to be something they would even like to see more of in local communities.