It is never a good time to need emergency care, but when you are facing a difficult health situation on the weekend or in the evenings the emergency may be the only options. In life threatening conditions going to a hospital ER is the only right answer.
When you are dealing with health conditions that are not life threatening, though, it is important to consider other available options. From family physicians and pediatricians to urgent care centers, patients need to realize that there are many options for affordable, reliable, and convenient health care. From flu shots to fracture care, it is important to make sure that you are making the best decisions when it comes time to get the care that you need.
Finding the best place to get the care that you need is often a combination of convenience, finances, and location. Although you always want the best care, it is not always necessary to visit a hospital emergency room. For many situations where the medical care that you need is not an emergency, a walk in health clinic is the perfect solution. Consider some of these facts and figures about the times when patients find themselves considering the difference between urgent and emergency care services:
- Minor accidents can cause families stress. In fact, 25,000 Americans suffer from an ankle sprain each day, a minor condition that can be handled in an urgent care setting.
- Estimates indicate that 80% of urgent care centers provide fracture care.
- Deciding that you need to go to the doctor comes with a decision about where you will get that care.
- Istead of paying the high price of being in a hospital emergency room, many patients can receive their care in a less expensive location.
- Clinics that do not require appointments allow patients to get the care that they need without having to make an appointment months in advance.
- Approximately 44% to 65% of all ER episodes could have been treated in urgent care clinic settings, according to a private study conducted by Milliman.
- Local hospital emergency rooms are not the solution to small medical problems.
- Colds, flus, and strep throats are conditions that can easily be treated in an urgent care setting.
- An estimated 3 million patients visit urgent care centers every week, according to the Urgent Care Association of America.
- Research indicates that 65% of all urgent care centers have a physician on-site at all times.
- Estimates indicate that 60% of all urgent care centers have a wait time of less than 15 minutes when it comes to seeing a physician or mid-level provider.
When you find out that you need MEDICAL CARE you have the decision between emergency care in the most serious cases and walk in clinics for more common health situations.