Walk in health clinics now offer a convenient alternative to an expensive, stressful and time-consuming visit to the emergency room. For most simple health problems and injuries, including dizziness, ankle sprains, flu and colds, and injuries like fractures, after hours urgent care clinics are well equipped to provide the necessary care. They can also treat chronic conditions like back pain, and provide other primary health care services for weight loss, sports and employment related physical check ups, and physical therapy.
Should you go to an urgent care?
The rise of after hours urgent care clinics has given people a new option for health care. A visit to emergency room care can be time-consuming and stressful, where sometimes patients who are already sick or injured have to wait hours to see a doctor. Making a doctor?s appointment can mean waiting for weeks until the office can find a time slot to fit you in.
Walk in health clinics can treat most non-emergency conditions and injuries. They have qualified doctors and medical staff, and quite often they have onsite diagnostic facilities and labs as well. With extended and weekend hours, it?s convenient to stop by. No appointment is necessary, and the wait to see a doctor is very rarely more than half an hour.
What do urgent care clinics treat?
The most common problems treated in after hours urgent care are upper respiratory issues and wounds, as of 2012. Other common ailments treated are dizziness, back pain and flu. Urgent cares can meet most of the day-to-day health needs of people, and also offer primary care services. They also provide treatment and support for chronic conditions like back pain, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Back pain affects as many as 69% of all Americans, impacting their day to day lives and activity. There is no real treatment for back pain, and most people just give up and learn to live with the pain. A significant proportion, 40%, never see a doctor or physical therapist. Physical therapy can help to manage and control back pain. It?s also the less expensive option, and can cost as much as $2736.23 less for patients receiving early therapy.
A convenient alternative to the ER
After hours urgent care centers have established themselves as an essential part of the healthcare system. They see about 3 million patients a week, according to the Urgent Care Association of America. There are about 20,000 physicians practicing urgent care and the demand for their services is projected to increase.
The popularity of urgent cares is not surprising, because they offer a low cost and convenient alternative to emergency room visits and to the London delays involved in making a doctor?s appointment. They can treat most common and chronic conditions and provide primary care services.
After hours urgent care clinics have become an important part of the healthcare system, meeting the day-to-day medical needs of people. With qualified medical staff and onsite diagnostics, they are convenient options for quality healthcare.
