The growth of urgent care centers is something that has been seen all throughout the United States. As a matter of fact, there are now more than 7,000 urgent care locations seen from one end to the next – and everywhere in between as well, for that matter. For a great many people, urgent care centers and other such walk in clinics have provided much needed care, as such clinics now service as many as three million people over the course of just one week, needing to employ up to 20,000 doctors in order to do so. And as up to one quarter (more, even) of the current population has gone to an urgent care center at least one over the course of the last two years, it is likely that we will see these numbers continue to grow and grow.
But why, exactly, have these urgent care clinics become so immensely popular on a countrywide scale? For one thing, urgent care centers are very convenient to attend indeed, as up to 85% of them are actually open each and every day of the week – something that can typically not be said for the average general care practitioner’s office. In addition to this, many an urgent care center has extended hours in comparison to other medical establishments, and some are even open around the clock, making them steep competition for the nearest emergency room.
The average wait time for such walk-in clinics is also very low. In more than 90% of all walk-in clinics seen throughout the country, the average wait time is only just a mere half of an hour, if not even shorter. After all, well over half of all urgent care clinics have weight times that do not, on average, even exceed 15 minutes. For the average patient who goes to such a medical center, getting in, receiving treatment, and being sent on their way is something that can actually be accomplished all within the span of just one hour. Unfortunately, the same can certainly not be said for the typical emergency room, where an average waiting period might end up dragging on as long as an hour – if not even longer than that, for that matter.
And urgent care centers can simply treat a wider array of conditions than many people actually realize. For instance, many different kinds of injuries are seen in walk in urgent care centers all throughout the country. In fact, the average walk in urgent care center will likely even be able to provide some level of fracture care, as this is a kind of urgent care treatment that has been offered at up to 80% of all urgent care locations throughout the country as a whole. The treatment of more minor injuries, such as that of the ankle sprain, are also commonly found in the vast majority of urgent care locations. And this is a very good thing, too, as up to 25,000 various ankle sprains will occur over the course of just one day in this one country alone.
Various types of skin conditions can also lead to the need for multicare urgent care treatment. Poison ivy exposure and contact, for instance, provides just one example of the importance of this. After all, poison ivy is found all throughout the continental United States. In addition to this, the vast majority of the population – up to 85% of it, as a matter of fact – has been found to be allergic to the plant. Therefore, exposure to poison ivy can all too quickly lead to an urgent care visit for a great many of people found all throughout the country.
For many people, the average urgent care center is quite the convenient place to be indeed. After all, urgent care locations all throughout the country provide a great deal and great quality of care for all different kinds of physical illnesses, injuries, and other such concerns. We should not underestimate the overall importance of this, especially as it continues to become more and more popular in our world with each year that passes us by.