There is an ever increasing amount of urgent care facilities serving timely primary medical care for those in need of emergency services.
It is approximated that there are now over 9,000 walk-in urgent care centers in the United States. About 50 to 100 new urgent care and clinics open each and every year. And there is very good reason for this.
Currently 20,000 physicians are practicing urgent care medicine today, and the number is growing. These medical professionals have developed timely primary medical care into an important, recognized specialty that represents this fast-growing medical field.
Emergency Rooms Vs. Urgent Care, Which Should You Choose?
While emergency rooms have served a useful purpose for many years, there simply are not enough of them to treat the numerous patients that come through their doors in a timely fashion.
One recent study shows that approximately 44% to 65% of all trips to the ER could have been treated in an urgent care clinic.
Cost is another factor that must be considered. A case that could be treated at an urgent care clinic may cost on average a little over $200. Whereas that same case may cost upwards of $2,000 when handled in a hospital emergency room.
What about wait times? Emergency rooms are notorious for long wait times. If you are injured, sick, or in agonizing pain, do you want to wait for hours in an uncomfortable chair? Only to have to wait another hour or longer to be seen by a doctor? Of course not.
When it comes to timely primary medical care, urgent care facilities are another story all together. The average wait time of most urgent care centers is less than 15 minutes to see a doctor.
It seems pretty clear, if you are looking for convenient medical treatment, if you have urgent medical needs, urgent care clinics are the right way to go.
The next time an emergency arises and you are looking for skillful convenient and affordable care, turn to the closest urgent care center. There is truly no better place for timely primary medical care.