Why Do People Choose Urgent Care Services?
From acute medical conditions to severe illnesses or injuries considered non-life-threatening, these are urgent care services you get in this facility.
Urgent care services are many, involving outpatient care for acute illnesses and minor injuries, including burns and cuts. They handle ailments that require a 24 hours address, which you might find in an ER. But why do most people go to an urgent care center instead of an ER or elsewhere? That’s what we’re about to discover, so we can understand what gem they find in these facilities.
Experienced and Certified Quality Doctors
Only a few know all the urgent care services they provide their patients. Many assume they can take illnesses like burns and injuries requiring stitching to an ER because urgent care facilities can’t handle them. However, they have board-certified and highly-trained practitioners with a broad knowledge of several medical healthcare. And this helps them to treat anything from a simple cold to less-severe medical issues. So, you get quality medical care without breaking the bank since this clinic is usually less expensive than other options.
Affordable Medical Services
While an ER visit can cost you approximately $2,250, a study shows that most urgent care centers charge an average of $150. That’s just a fraction cost of a hospital emergency room pay. They also accept several medical insurance providers.
Various Services Found In Urgent Care
And with a qualified health care team, urgent care centers can diagnose and treat the below conditions:
- Sprains and strains
- Lacerations and minor wound treatments
- Backache and other small body aches
- Nausea and vomiting
- Un-severe allergic reactions
- Sore throat
- Cold, flu, and fever
- Sinus infections
- Ear infections
- Upper respiratory infections
- Pneumonia
- Insect or animal bites
They can handle the above conditions due to their experience and broad knowledge of their medical care unit. Also, they are well-equipped, and that’s why it’s possible to offer many urgent care services such as the following:
- X-rays
- Lab facilities
- STD screening
- Prescriptions such as antibiotics
- Medication refills
- Chronic disease screening
An Alternative to Primary Care
An urgent care provides a better option for your primary care doctor when unavailable but doesn’t replace your doctor. Most urgent cares have flexible working hours, including evenings and weekends, offering faster and cheaper healthcare to a hospital ER. However, the illness/injury must not be life-threatening.
Timely
Many people have experienced lengthy waits in a hospital waiting room. A medical care provider attends to you within 20 minutes or less as soon as you walk in. You can wait for hours if you don’t have an emergency condition. But a survey shows that most urgent care services are more efficient as they take less than an hour.
No Appointment Required
Another reason patients prefer urgent care, they don’t need a prior booking for a practitioner to see them. Though it’s appropriate to do so, when you’re out of time, you can still get a physician to see you, diagnose, treat you, and go home happy.
Accessibility
Every year, about 400-500 new urgent care facilities open in the U.S from 2014 to date. So, this means almost everyone can easily access a center near you, no matter your state. Accessibility to healthcare is vital since this can be a lifesaver. It also gives the community peace of mind, knowing they don’t have to travel for miles to receive healthcare.
In Conclusion
We hope you now understand the benefits of an urgent care facility. So, it’s affordable, convenient, and easily accessible. Before taking a trip to an ER or any other health care center, check if your condition falls in the urgent care services offered. If it does, you save yourself some cool bucks of what you could pay in an ER. And they can also be a better alternative to your primary care doctor when he is away.
