Understanding the Importance of Urgent Care Centers - Legacy ER

Many Americans today report that they have been unable to see their primary physician because there is no available time to create appointments. This issue has led to the emergence of walk-in clinics that provide emergency care. Urgent medical care centers are one category of walk-in clinics that have been received positively by many Americans. This is because these centers provide skillful convenient and affordable care.

Unlike the ER, urgent care centers are not equipped to deal with a life-threatening medical emergency. They only deal with non-life-threatening injuries or illnesses that require immediate attention. Urgent care centers are designed to deal with patients in the shortest time possible. In most cases, a patient will not wait more than half an hour to see a medical professional. You don’t have to wait in a long line to get help and you’re on your way in about an hour in most cases.

Urgent care centers are also known to provide skillful convenient and affordable care for longer business hours. That means if you get hit with a stomach bug or a cold at an inconvenient time, it’s possible to see someone at an urgent care facility when you wouldn’t be able to see your primary care physician. It is also not necessary to make an appointment before you visit an urgent care center. Some centers even provide 24-hour emergency care.

One of the major reasons that urgent care centers have become popular is that they are significantly cheaper than regular emergency care. Research has shown that they can be up to 10 times cheaper than going to the hospital.

Urgent care centers in the United States have grown significantly from 6,707 in 2015 to 7,357 in 2016 according to the Urgent Care Association of America 2016 Benchmarking Report. There have been even more urgent care center locations constructed since. This shows how on-demand skillful, convenient, and affordable care is in the United States.

It is rare to find an urgent care facility affiliated with a major hospital. It is therefore essential to confirm that your mode of payment is acceptable at your urgent care facility of choice.

Urgent medical centers have different staffing models. Most of them, however, will have a doctor, an assistant physician, and a nurse. You will find some that have only a physician. Such urgent centers might cost more, but you will still get skillful convenient and affordable care services.

The growth of walk-in clinics in the healthcare industry has resulted in the decongestion of emergency rooms in hospitals. More patients with life-threatening illnesses are getting proper medical attention and patients with non-life threatening situations are getting the affordable care they need.

Giving the community access to skillful convenient and affordable healthcare has been a great plus for the government. More measures are being put in place to increase urgent care facilities at the community level to reduce dependency on local emergency room service.

Before visiting a local urgent medical care facility, it is important to do your research online on what services they offer, their payment options, their business hours and the type of medical staff that they have.