If you’ve noticed an advanced urgent care center in your neighborhood, you might have wondered if it’s the right place for you and your family to get medical care. Knowledge is power, so from getting a flu vaccination to getting stitches for that cut, here are five great times to visit an urgent care center.

1. When you need to get a flu vaccination; or when it’s too late. The flu can be devastating and can result in a lot of lost time at work and school. It can also be dangerous for anyone, but especially the very young and the very old. Getting a flu vaccination is a smart way to do everything you can to protect yourself and your family, in addition to keeping up good hygiene practices during flu season. You can get the flu vaccination at your urgent care clinic, and this is, in fact, one of the easiest place

For those without health insurance, looking up urgent care locations near you is probably the best way to get fast and thorough medical care, and is a viable alternative to the emergency room. There are many advantages of urgent care, from short wait times to lower costs, to quality medical treatment.

The emergency room can often have a wait time of up to an hour, while most urgent care locations (more than half) have an average wait time of only around fifteen minutes, less than half than that of the emergency room. One of the advantages of urgent care is that the majority of walk in urgent care locations only take about an hour, total, between waiting and being seen by

If you have a non-life-threatening injury or illness that’s still serious enough to need to be seen by a doctor, visiting an urgent care express is a good alternative to heading to the emergency room if your regular physician isn’t available. Unfortunately, many people’s tendency is to turn directly to the ER — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that just under half of adult patients who weren’t sick enough to be admitted to the hospital had gone to the ER because their doctors’ offices were closed. This clogs up emergency rooms with cases that aren’t life-or-death and creates more work for already at-capacity hospital staff. Plus, it’s unpleasant for the patients, who often face lon

Most of us have a paradoxical relationship with our health. On the one hand, we want to be healthy and do all that we can to ensure a life without illness or injury. But on the other hand, we often avoid things like routine check-ups, even if they’re relatively quick and painless. There are a few possible reasons for this. Some people are so self-conscious they don’t even like when a doctor fully examines them. Others, especially those who have reached a certain age, don’t like going through the tests physical examinations demand, such as mammograms and prostate exams. These exams aren’t necessarily harmful, but they’re not always pleasant either. Others still might simply be afraid of what their doctor will tell them. No one wants to hear they have high blood pressure, need to change their diet, exer