Immediate care

There is a reason that urgent care centers represent one of the fastest growing parts of the Ameriican healthcare system. These centers fill an important hole in our health care system.

While emergency rooms are effective, they are also often expensive and have long waits, making it unfeasible to have more minor maladies treated there. Did you know that the typical emergency room visit costs an average of 1,500 dollars, while treatment an an urgent care facility costs on average under 150 dollars? That is just one tenth of the cost of ERs.

However, these sicknesses and pains should receive medical attention, but many times primary physicians do no offer after hours. According to a CDC study, nearly half (48 percent) of adult ER patients that were not sick enough to be admitted to the hospital said that they sought out health care at an Emergency Room because their primary physicians were unreachable.

So where would one go on the weekend or at night for something something like a cut that needs stitches, but it non life threatening? The answer is simple. To an urgent care facility.

The urgent care facility movement began a long time ago, believe it or not. These are not new places. It all started in the 1970s, in the United State, but has since grown exponentially around the globe since that time.

There is a rising demand for these places. Every year, Americans get approximately 1 billion colds, while the caseload of their doctors just keeps getting heavier. This means more waiting time and less doctor time with the patient. The importance of an urgent care facility has never been more clear. It would be very prudent to make sure you know where the closest urgent care facility is to you, in the event of an emergency.

If you have ever had an experience with any urgent care facilities, whether it be with an Std test or setting a broken bone, please comment about the immediate care center that you went to! Why or why not did you like the urgent care facility? More on this.