What You Should Know About The Benefits Of The Typical Urgent Care Center
From care for minor injuries to illnesses, receiving medical care is certainly something that many of us find the need for over the course of time. After all, life happens. Sometimes we get hurt and sometimes we get sick. In just one single day, as a matter of fact, there will be more than 25,000 cases of sprained ankles seen all throughout the United States in its entirety. In some cases, having access to medical care for our ailments will be quite hugely important indeed, even vital.
But where should one get this medical care? The answer is a varied one. For one thing, going to a general care practitioner’s office is a common choice, as one will likely have a relationship already established with such a doctor. However, such medical practices are often not open in the evenings or on weekends, not to mention closing for holidays as well. Therefore, developing a health concern in need of medical attention during such hours can all too easily prove difficult indeed. Fortunately, there are a number of other options out there as well.
For instance, going to a local emergency room is also likely possible for most people. After all, emergency rooms are legally obligated to provide care to all people, no matter whether or not they have insurance or any other factor. And if you’re facing a true medical emergency, going to the emergency room is almost certainly the place for you. However, going to the emergency room instead of seeking another method of medical care is not always ideal otherwise. For one thing, it’s pricey. Even with good medical insurance, you’re not likely to walk out of an ER visit without owing less than several hundred dollars, if not even more than that. In addition to this, wait times are long as well. Unfortunately, the average ER waiting room time has now skyrocketed to a full hour – and in some places, has likely even exceeded it.
Fortunately, urgent care centers provide a viable alternative to both of the above. In fact, the care given for minor injuries and illnesses at urgent care locations throughout the country is so impressive that only around 3% of all cases originally seen in an urgent care facility will ever need to be transferred to a hospital. On the other hand, as many as 65% of all cases seen in any given emergency room could easily be treated at a local walk in clinic instead.
After all, urgent care locations can treat a great deal of different and varied cases. Minor injuries are commonly treated at urgent care centers, with wound repair the most common procedure performed throughout them. But though minor injuries often make up the brunt of the care that is given at any given urgent care center, there are still more ways that urgent care centers provide help to people in need. In addition to minor injuries, as a matter of fact, more major injuries can also often be handled. For instance, a full 80% of all urgent care clinics now even offer fracture diagnosis and care, something that is likely to save many patients a trip to the emergency room – and a great deal of saved time and money alike as a result.
In addition to major and minor injuries, preventative care is also often provided at many a walk in clinic. For one thing, getting your flu shot is something almost anyone can do through their local urgent care location. The flu, after all, is something that we should all protect ourselves against as much as it is possible. After all, though many people are poorly informed on this subject, the flu can actually be quite serious. As a matter of fact, as many as 200,000 different people will end up in the hospital thanks to the flu over the course of just one single year. Unfortunately, some of these people will even end up losing their lives, as sad as this fact is. Getting a flu shot won’t totally and completely eliminate your chances of getting the flu, but it will most certainly help to mitigate them – and lessen any symptoms you do develop.
