Urgent care centers have quickly become one of the biggest game-changers in the medical/health care industry. Due to their convenient, accessible, and affordable nature more and more people are beginning to turn to them to help them diagnose and treat a variety of different ailments and conditions. While they’ve been around for years, walk in clinics only started to become “mainstream” in the last decade or so, thanks in large part to the acceptance of the younger generations.
Urgent care offer virtually the same level of care and treatment for many conditions, but there are some things that are best left to emergency rooms, hospitals, or your primary care physician. It’s important to remember that for all the great benefits, urgent care facilities were created to supplement and assist these other traditional health care options, not replace them entirely.
In that honor, here are a couple conditions that are perfect for seeking treatment at a walk in style care facility.
- Acute Illness: Whether you rolled out of a bed with a scratch throat or unbearable cough, acute illnesses can feel anything but minor at times. It can be hard/impossible to schedule an appointment with your doctor, who’s likely already booked for the day. That’s where urgent care comes in handy. These centers and diagnose, treat, and often prescribe medications for acute illnesses to jump start your body’s combative efforts.
- Broken and Fractured Bones: In the event of a severe, traumatic incident, such as a compound fracture, it’s probably best to go straight to an emergency room. But for those broken or fractured bones of a lesser variety urgent care centers are adequately equipped to handle.
- Tests and Shots: Most walk in care facilities offer a variety of different testing options for things like STD’s, and vaccinations/shots for things like the flu. Again, due to scheduling/timing constraints in a person’s life getting into a traditional center can be near impossible. With urgent care you simply walk in, get your test/shot done and walk right out.
While there are still many reasons to go see your primary doctor or make a trip to a hospital/emergency room, urgent care clinics are helping to offset waiting times and rising costs for conditions like these and many others.