Urgent care centers are rapidly spreading across the United States, with as many as 75% of facilities found in suburban areas and another 10% found in rural areas. The reason for this growth is due to the many benefits urgent care clinics offer their patients: to name just a few, urgent care center visits are 40 to 50% less expensive than a typical trip to the emergency room, can be covered with health insurance plans, and are often completed in an hour or less. And now, with the services offered by urgent care walk in clinics expanding, there is often no reason to have your non-life-threatening medical condition treated anywhere else.
Every year in the United States, there are an estimated 160 million visits to an urgent care center. The medical problems behind these visits vary: in 2012, for example, the most common diagnosis given at an urgent care facility was an upper respiratory infection. However, as urgent care services expand, the illnesses and injuries urgent care centers see will likely diversify even further. While urgent care clinics traditionally evaluate the needs of a patient and prescribe pain medication and antibiotics in a single visit, many urgent care clinics are now providing care for broken bones and fractures as well. Additionally, many facilities are adding physical therapy programs, x ray machines, and more to make their services more convenient for patients who need medical services.
People visit urgent care centers for a number of reasons. For example, because urgent care centers see patients immediately on a walk in basis, they are often perfect for treating non-critical conditions that still require immediate attention, rather than waiting for admittance to an emergency room or for an appointment at your local doctors office. However, with services at urgent care centers expanding to include everything from physical therapy programs and physicals to x rays and routine blood work, there is no reason not to turn to an urgent care center for most of your medical needs. Take advantage of all urgent care facilities have to offer: in the event of your next medical condition, visit a walk in clinic at your convenience. This is a great source for more: www.immediateclinic.com