3 Advantages of Urgent Care Centers

When you are in an emergency situation, your first thought is likely not to debate the pros and cons of different medical care options. That is why many people automatically choose the emergency room as a default option, even if there is a better option for their situation. This is why it is important to know and understand your options before the need for medical care arises. If you are in a life-threatening situation, the emergency room is of course needed. But for many other ailments, urgent care centers are able to help, with numerous benefits.

Less Wait Time

A survey from The Urgent Care Association of America showed that 57% of patients waited 15 minutes of less to be seen by a physician, and 80% of visits are completed within 60 minutes. For many people, going to the emergency room can mean hours of wait time just to be seen by someone, and hours more to actually be treated and released. ER crowding in recent years has made this issue worse. With urgent care however, you won’t have to worry about wait time!

Less Restricted Hours

Did you know that about 48% of emergency room patients aren’t actually sick enough to go to the ER? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many only sought treatment there because their regular physician’s office was closed. About 90.6% of urgent care centers, on the other hand, are open until at least 7:00 pm on weeknights, while two out of five centers are open until 9:00 pm or later.

Less Cost

ER visits are known to cost hundreds of dollars, and have a much higher copay for each patient. Cut your cost by skipping the emergency room and heading straight to urgent care.

Have you been to any urgent care facilities lately? What was your experience like? Would you recommend their medical care to friends and family?