A Look at Urgent Care Facilities

Are you one of thousands of people who are increasingly turning to urgent care facilities for medical services? These centers are very economical and are a convenient alternative to emergency room visits. These urgent care facilities provide medical services for conditions that do not warrant an emergency room visit, but still require rapid attention.
Many people who visit urgent care centers seek medical attention for upper respiratory illness, gastrointestinal problems, burns, lacerations, and minor fractures or sprains.
People choosing urgent care facilities for the treatment of these types of minor illnesses and injuries do so because the wait time is shorter, and the cost is usually less than a visit to the ER or a primary care doctors visits. In fact, the average cost for a visit to urgent care facilities costs about $150, while the cost for a trip to the ER room can be around $1,500. The average wait time at urgent care facilities is approximately 15 minutes or less, and about 80% of all visits are completed in less than an hour. Additionally urgent care hours are convenient with some facilities offering 24 hr urgent care.
While these urgent care facilities do provide services for those medical conditions requiring immediate attention, increasingly these centers are providing lab services, X rays and routine physicals. Again, these types of services are often provided in a much more timely and convenient manner.
Urgent care facilities have all types of medical personnel on staff including physicians, nurses, and physicians assistants. Many of these urgent care facilities have one or more doctors on site at all times. These urgent care facilities also represent one of the fastest growing parts of the American healthcare system.
As you can see, these types of urgent medical care centers can prove very beneficial in non life threatening medical emergencies. It may be a good idea to find the closest such facility to your home or work. You will be able to get your family member to a clinic very quickly and you will know that they are receiving fast treatment for their injury or disorder. Additionally, you can use these urgent care facilities for those routine physicals and vaccination, eliminating the wait time at your regular doctors office.
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