Your Injury Is Painful, But Not Life-Threatening Should You Go To The ER Or Urgent Care Center?
You’re cooking dinner for your family and you’re sure the night is going well. Out of nowhere you cut yourself with the steak knife and it’s too deep for a quick band-aid. Should you go to the emergency room? Advantage urgent care is a medical resource that’s cheaper, faster and more effective at treating minor to moderate injuries or illnesses. In fact, many Americans find themselves spending more money going straight to the ER when they could’ve instead visited an urgent care facility. When a surprise has you scrambling for options, trust that you have certified medical staff waiting to help you.
Urgent care medicine is a unique field of care that sits in-between the emergency room and your regular doctor. It’s defined by its ease of use and accessibility to all sorts of patients, able to see you in and out much faster than if you’d gone the standard route. It’s estimated 60% of all urgent care centers have a wait time of less than 15 minutes. Are you on a tight schedule? Do you have children who are afraid of doctor visits? An advantage urgent care center can mean the difference between a quick recovery and a stressful week for many.
Not only are urgent care centers fast, they’re flexible. Nearly 70% of urgent care centers are open before 9:00 a.m. during the weekday and the majority will remain open until 7:00 p.m. or later. Keep in mind, however, that many are closed during the holidays and only some will remain open throughout the night. Taking a little extra time to detail the schedules of urgent care centers in your area will save you a lot of driving should a burn, cut or sprain put you out of commission. It also helps to know which conditions are treated and which aren’t.
Urgent care centers are equipped to handle a wide variety of cases. Around 80% of them, for starters, provide fracture care. Another seven out of 10 (about 70%) of urgent care clinics will provide intravenous fluids — this can be used for anything from dehydration to providing life-saving medication as quickly as possible. General injuries include burns, cuts, bruises, scrapes and broken bones, while illnesses can include the common cold, the flu, sexually transmitted diseases, stomach problems and migraines. Some of the most frequent symptoms brought to advantage urgent care centers are sinus infections, ear infections and chest pain.
Preventative care is also incredibly important. You can get your yearly flu vaccination at an urgent care center — this needs to be updated on a rolling basis to keep up with virus mutations and new strains. Nearly 40% of all urgent care centers use electronic prescription ordering systems to make visits as quick as possible. These handle everything from billing to clinical notes to assessing patient demographics. Your walk in urgent care center is more advanced than it’s ever been before, able to provide you a quick assessment, record your information and get you meeting with a professional in no time at all.
Too many Americans waste precious time and money by going to the wrong medical resource in their time of need. Advantage urgent care can address a myriad of minor to moderate injuries and illnesses in a short time frame, getting you back on your feet and out the door as quickly as possible. Walk in clinics boast flexible schedules, accessible locations and even preventative care to keep you healthy in the long-term. When you’re facing a day that’s suddenly taken a wrong turn, all you have to do is look up an urgent care clinic in your area. They’ll handle the rest.
