Urgent Care Units Three Things You Ought to Know
If you need to go to the hospital, urgent care units are a worthy alternative to the emergency room (ER). Barring life-threatening injuries or conditions, going to a 24 hour walk in clinic has its advantages. Though no one ever hopes to go to the ER, accidents happen, and when they do it’s best to be informed. The 9,000 or so urgent care centers in the United States today offer premium health services with a shorter wait time and an affordable price.
To better illustrate this, here are three benefits of going to an urgent care clinic:
- They Offer the Same Services as the ER: Emergency clinics have most of the same capabilities as ERs, the major exception being that most walk in medical clinics are not fully equipped to handle serious trauma. It is always recommended to go to an ER for life-threatening injuries. For less pressing medical needs, 24 hour walk in clinics are just as effective. Nearly 95% of urgent care units have one or more doctors on staff, and 70% of units provide can use intravenous fluids (IV) when needed — just two examples of how similar both units are.
- They’re Affordable: Urgent care not only offers the same services, they do it for less money! For the same treatment at an ER, urgent care patients stand to save anywhere from $228 to $583. Many clinics also offer flexible payment plans for those with little-to-no health insurance.
- They’re Fast: Patients love the fact that urgent care takes on average less time than ERs. Sixty-nine percent of centers have an average wait time of 20 minutes or less; 28% have 21-40 minutes; and a mere 3% have a wait time longer than 40 minutes.
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For more information about 24 hour walk in clinics and the services they provide, feel free to leave a comment or question at the bottom.
