Where do you go when you need to see the doctor, but yours is busy, and you’re not quite “emergency room” level sick? Today’s patients head to the nearest urgent care clinic.
These facilities started back in the 1970s but only recently began to develop traction over the past two decades. Now, you can find clinics offering urgent care in Utah and throughout the rest of the country. Nearly 90 million people seek treatment each year at an urgent care or walk-in clinic for non-emergency-related medical services.
What are the top 5 reasons for urgent care treatment, and could you benefit from these facilities, too? Here are the main types of visits doctors and nurses see in these clinics.
1. No Wait (Well, Sort Of)
When you’re sick or hurt enough that you can’t treat the problem at home, your primary care doctor probably can’t get you in right away. In many doctor’s offices today, the wait for an appointment can be weeks or longer!
At an urgent care clinic, you can show up without an appointment and usually be seen that day. Don’t expect immediate care, though. As with an emergency room, your wait time depends on the patient load there before you. But if you bring a book or something to keep you occupied, this is the ideal place to head to if you have a sprain or strain, a urinary tract infection (UTI), or an irritating skin rash.
2. Your Problems Are Highly Concerning, But Not ER-Worthy
Your child fell off her bike and twisted her wrist. You think it’s a sprain, but you’re not sure, and you want to have a professional opinion, so you head to the urgent care clinic.
You woke up this morning with pink eye, and you can’t work until it’s treated.
Or maybe you have a painful sinus or ear infection.
All of these are problems that you should be highly concerned with, but they don’t require the high medical bill that comes with an emergency room visit. Your urgent care doctor can handle most mild to moderately serious illnesses or injuries.
3. Freeing Up the ER Room
If you’ve ever been to the emergency room during a busy time, you know that the doctors and nurses there are already overworked and understaffed. Not only can you expect longer waits and higher bills, but you know that you’re taking the time away from a patient with a potentially much more serious problem.
Nearly 4 in 10 emergency room patients don’t have an actual emergency. They just needed medical attention quickly. By visiting the urgent care clinic instead, you free up the ER room for those who truly need prompt attention.
4. You Can Get Your Labs
Concerned that you might be pregnant? Is your blood sugar fluctuating? Do you have flu-like symptoms?
All of these tests and more can be performed at the urgent care clinic nearest you, and you’ll get the results much faster than you probably would have at the emergency room. Note that blood tests often take a few days for complete results, and not all clinics offer radiology (X-rays and EKGs) or other services.
5. Your Bills Will Be More Affordable
It can be challenging to get out of the emergency room without accruing thousands of dollars in bills. Even if you have insurance, most ER deductibles are higher than visiting a specialty doctor.
Urgent care visits run in the hundreds, not thousands, of dollars, and many can be completed for under $100, depending on the problem and tests performed. Insurances not only cover these visits, but many prefer you choose an urgent care provider over the emergency room.
Whether you have a non-emergency situation that needs quick treatment or you want to save money by skipping the ER for your serious (but not emergency-level) problem, the urgent care clinic is an ideal solution.
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