Five Good Reasons to Pick Local Urgent Care Centers Over the Emergency Room

Urgent care services have swept across the nation over the last decade as more and more local urgent care centers are popping up each year. Nearly one out of every five urgent care centers see over 450 patients per week, making urgent care one of the fastest growing health care services in the nation. Here are five solid reasons why local urgent care may just be the way to go for all your health care needs.

Faster Service

Patience is a virtue, but sometimes waiting only makes a problem worse. When going to the emergency room, many patients are at the mercy of the night as they wait and see how quickly they can be seen. Roughly 80% of local urgent care centers are able to see patients within an hour, and up to 60% of all urgent care centers have a wait time of less than 15 minutes.

Extended Availability

The reason that many people end up going to the emergency room is due to the fact that their primary physicians’ office is closed. Most urgent care centers open at or before 9 am and remain open until 7 pm or later on weekdays. Many centers even have extended weekend hours to ensure that no one goes without care.

Emergency Care

Since urgent care centers are relatively new on the American health care scene, it makes sense that many citizens aren’t entirely sure on what services are available. About 70% of urgent care facilities have the capability to provide intravenous fluids as needed and roughly 80% of centers can provide treatment for fractures and breaks.

Complete Healing

Urgent care isn’t simply first aid, it is complete care set to quality one would expect from any doctor’s office. About 40% of centers have adopted electronic prescription ordering systems that allow them to prescribe medicine appropriate for each patient. In addition, computerized networks allow urgent care to bring up patient information including lab work, imaging results, patient demographics, and other information to give a more comprehensive level of care.

A Doctor’s Touch

The final reason why many trust urgent care centers to provide quality care is because nearly half of all centers are owned by a physician or group of physicians. This means that there is a physician on site for nearly 65% of urgent care centers at all times. Save time, money, and the hassle by trusting your care to an urgent care center.