How much do you know about urgent care facilities? Many people skip urgent care in favor of the emergency room or a far-off doctor’s appointment, but is this the best choice?
Why would you choose an urgent care center over the emergency room? Who should you turn to next time you’re sick or injured?
We’re here to help you figure it out by explaining all of the benefits of urgent care centers. Keep reading to learn more.
Lower Costs
Anyone in the United States knows that a trip to the doctor’s office or emergency room can end up costing a lot more than they’re prepared to spend. That said, things come up, and sometimes professional help is unavoidable.
You don’t have to put off your healthcare due to a lack of funds. Urgent care facilities are often less expensive than other forms of medical care, even if you don’t have great insurance.
Many insurance options cover urgent care (though it’s always a good idea to check ahead of time) and co-pays tend to be low and reasonable. Taking care of your health in an emergency situation shouldn’t put you in debt.
Accessible for Travelers
There are urgent care facilities all over, so you don’t have to worry about getting healthcare when you’re away from home. While you should always check with your insurance first, many insurance companies cover visits to urgent care centers regardless of whether they are.
For example, if you’re traveling in Utah and you need to visit Revere Health for an unexpected injury or health issue, it’s likely that your insurance from your home state will accept it.
Don’t put off your health until you get back home, or cut off a trip early because you’re in need of care. Walk into an urgent care clinic and keep the trip going.
Quick Care
Have you experienced long wait times at your primary care doctor’s office or the emergency room? Primary care providers aren’t often equipped for last-minute problems. They’re booked with appointments, so your problems fall by the wayside.
Emergency rooms, which should be better-suited to last-minute health or injury issues, are still slow, and you’ll find yourself waiting for a long time just to see someone. If your issue is relatively minor, you can wait hours behind people who are there for more pressing matters.
Urgent care centers focus on smaller issues and they’re able to see patients quickly because of that. You won’t be wasting time that could be better allocated to patients in dire need of help, and you’ll receive the care that you need quicker as a result.
Hours Work for Everyone
Many people end up in the emergency room for minor issues because their primary care provider isn’t available when they need them. Many doctor’s offices are open during standard work hours on weekdays, making them inaccessible for anyone who works a standard 8 to 5 schedule, or anyone who’s in school.
How many times have you neglected your care because you weren’t able to make it to a doctor?
Urgent care centers often have more accessible hours. They’re often open at night and on weekends so they can serve as many people as possible. Regardless of when you find yourself ill or injured, you can go to an urgent care center and expect them to be open.
No Appointments Necessary
When you’re dealing with a sudden problem, do you have time to make an appointment? Even if you have the time to call in for an appointment, how many times have you called only to realize that the next available slot is at a time you can’t make, or a week or more in the future?
You can’t walk into most primary care provider’s offices and expect to be treated without an appointment unless they have walk-in hours, and those slots tend to fill early in the morning.
You can walk into any urgent care clinic knowing that someone will see you without an appointment. No need to prepare ahead of time or wait for weeks to get care.
A Wide Range of Services
Many people are unaware of all of the things that they can go to an urgent care center for. Some people think that they’re only for serious medical emergencies, but this isn’t the case.
Urgent care centers handle mild to moderate health issues and injuries. On the mild side, they can handle viral and bacterial infections, problems with allergies, respiratory conditions like pneumonia, sprains, burns, and cuts (even if they need stitches).
On the more serious end, some urgent care centers know how to handle high fevers, set broken bones, manage fainting spells, and provide stitches to more serious cuts.
Some urgent care centers can help with sudden pregnancy issues (though they may send you to an emergency room if the problem is beyond their scope) and STDs.
If your problem is too serious for an urgent care clinic to handle, they’ll let you know that you need to visit an emergency room. It never hurts to visit an urgent care center first.
Urgent Care Facilities Are For Everyone
Urgent care facilities are a crucial part of the healthcare system. They provide affordable and accessible care to everyone, regardless of their ability to make standard hours or the level of care that they need.
Because not everyone knows about the advantages of urgent care, they don’t use this resource. Urgent care is for your community. Use it!
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