Many people prefer not to have to go to a hospital emergency room when they experience a medical illness or injury that is not life threatening. Medical help has taken on a new meaning with the creation of the medical walk in clinics and urgent care clinics. Over time more and more of these types of clinics have sprung up in almost every town and city. They offer walk in medical care for people during the hours when the typical doctor’s office is not open, specifically nights, weekends, and holidays. Some urgent care clinics are open 24 hours, which is also helpful for families with children who become sick during the night. Parents who are concerned are usually grateful for available medical help during those times so that they can get their children immediate relief. Many of these clinics, about 85%, offer their services seven days a week.

The difference between a medical center emergency room and an urgent care clinic is that a clinic is not equipped to offer proper care for a life threatening injury or illness. When this type of medical care began, its purpose was to provide more affordable care for people whose medical insurance was minimal, or even non-existent. An example of this is urgent care clinic burien which is pretty typical of walk in medical clinics across the country. Services available to patients who visit the urgent care clinic burien include treatment for many illnesses and injuries as well as immunizations and vaccinations, X-rays, lab work, check ups, and prescriptions. Medical professionals at the urgent care clinic burien will also provide treatment for minor fractures, as do at least four out of five medical walk in clinics throughout the country.

Some symptoms that are on the more serious side and should be treated at a hospital emergency room are broken bones, difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, severe allergic reactions to food or medication, and any kind of severe pain. A medical center emergency room is better equipped to deal with these types of serious problems and has access to life saving equipment not available to a walk in clinic.

Typical medical clinics such as the urgent care clinic burien were not created to take the place of an individual’s or family’s primary care physician, although there are people to prefer to see them as such. Primary care physicians will become acquainted with their patient’s health and health history. They provide the assistance needed in treating chronic symptoms that their patients experience, in addition to providing ongoing monitoring of those conditions. When a problem is not within a physician’s education and experience, he or she will provide referrals to specialists whose training fits their patient’s particular needs.

Back pain is a common problem suffered by many people who seek relief at an urgent care clinic. At least 69% of people with symptoms of low back pain say that it negatively affects their day to day lives. To try to alleviate some of the pain and discomfort, many people will try exercise, either on their own or with a group. Statistics show that about four out of every ten people use exercise to try and relieve debilitating pain in the lower back.

Urgent care clinics will usually provide medical care given by nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants. Often, however, a licensed physician is associated with and available at the clinic, and always reachable, even when not physically on the premises. The cost savings at a clinic is also a draw for people when considering a visit there as opposed to a hospital emergency room. If symptoms are not life threatening, seeing a medical professional at a clinic could save the patient hundreds of dollars. A good example is a patient being seen at a walk in clinic for strep throat. If seen at an emergency room, the bill could reach as much as $530; a typical urgent care clinic visit for the same illness will cost at least $400 less!

In certain inner cities free clinics have been created for people who have no medical insurance. Some of the staff hold paid positions; however, many of the people who work there do so on a volunteer basis.