Don’t put Your Health on Hold!

Health care is an issue that has been debated constantly for decades. It isn’t perfect, but it evolves every day in an effort to keep the citizens of this planet alive and well! Many people have a primary care physician that they go to for yearly checkups and specific health concerns, but what happens when your medical issue doesn’t fit into the 9-5 work day?

This is where urgent care facilities come into play. Medicine is most certainly not a 9-5 occupation, and the people who work at these facilities understand that. Perhaps it is because more and more people are realizing this fact that the number of urgent care facilities has increased from 8,000 to almost 9,500 in the last seven years. These clinics offer services that can improve the quality of life for countless people at an affordable price.

One of the most pressing concerns in education today is the discussion around sex education. Young men and women are taught all about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and how careful they have to be, but in most cases, students are never provided information on where STD testing can be done. Urgent care facilities, beyond providing medical care outside of normal physicians’ hours, also provide services such as anonymous STD testing, same day STD testing, and walk in appointments. Not only does this mean access to sexual health care outside of your normal physician’s office, it means young adults who may not feel comfortable going to their primary care physician can receive affordable, anonymous care. Less than 40% of sexually active young adults are screened for STDs each year, but with these types of services being provided, hopefully that number will grow.

Urgent care facilities are more than STD testing centers though. If you have a rash, or an urgent health concern, the physicians working at any urgent care can save you a costly trip to the emergency room (ER). Urgent care is a low cost health clinic for all kinds of issues. The average wait time in an ER is 23 to 30 minutes, but if you or someone you know is experiencing a serious medical issue in need of immediate attention, that’s probably not the best option. Almost 60% of urgent care centers have less than a 15 minute wait time to see a physician. Coupled with more affordable care, that makes urgent care the best option for countless people.

You can’t put your health on hold, so why would you let it happen when there are facilities that can see you right away? Don’t let your health wait!