One more week until school starts and your daughter just now announces that she wants to go out for cross country this year. She has always enjoyed running and she knows that even with no official training so far she is already able to run the speed that is required to earn an athletic letter. Even though she is a junior and she is certain that she will not make the varsity team, she is still certain that she will find her own kind of success.
This is all well and good and you are proud that your daughter is willing to try something new this year, but there is a problem. Your daughter has not had a sports physical, and when you called the family physician you were unable to get an appointment. Fortunately, your husband suggested that you might be able to get a school physical appointment at a local urgent care location. Acting on your husband’s suggestion, you called and found out that you could just walk in for an appointment and a sports physical any time that they are open.
Urgent care services, in fact, are always available to the walk in patient. This is what specifically sets urgent care services apart from other health care platforms like hospital emergency rooms and family physicians and pediatricians. In addition to offering the walk in appointment options, urgent care services also offer affordable care from experienced doctors and other health care officials.
Urgent Care Centers Offer Convenient Hours During Evenings and Weekends
In a time when more and more Americans are getting access to affordable health care insurance, it should come as no surprise that the nation will continue to look for a number of platforms to help get services to these individuals who may now have insurance for the first time. Although the past health care experience has typically involved family physicians and pediatricians, the nation’s health care industry may not be able to keep up with the increasing numbers of people who have access to health care. For this reason, it is especially important that the nation continues to look for other solutions. Health care clinics still accept health insurance and are able to administer the care that they give at a far less expensive price. Consider some of these facts and figures about the current state of urgent care offerings in America:
- Family physicians and pediatricians have long been the major health care option for many insured patients. These appointments, however, are often difficult to get.
- Instead of a family physician appointment, patients can walk into clinics without an appointment.
- No one who is not in need of emergency care should seek the expensive services provided at hospital ERs.
- Doctors have typically opened urgent care services to provide a new way to offer patient services.
- Instead of limited office hours at family physician offices, 66% of urgent care centers open earlier than 9:00 am during the week.
- Nearly 70% of urgent care centers can provide intravenous fluids.
- Getting affordable, convenient care is the goal for most patients.
- Half of all urgent care centers are owned by doctors.
- Estimates indicate that 90.6% of health care clinics remain open until 7:00 pm or later on weeknights.
- Additionally, 40% of health care clinics remain until 9:00 p.m. or later.
- Looking for a shorter appointment wait time? Nearly 60% of urgent care centers have a wait time of less than 15 minutes to see a physician or mid-level provider.
- The added news is that 65% always have a physician on-site.
- Health care is important to the entire nation.
- Can you get an appointment at your physician’s office when you need it?
- As more and more people get insurance, the health care industry looks for new platforms to provide care.
- Research indicates that 21.7% of urgent care centers have more than 450 patient visits every week.
- Emergency room hospital visits are expensive.
- Services at urgent care clinics are far more affordable.
- One visit can prevent future health problems.
- Letting a health concern go can be problematic.
- Urgent care clinics present a convenient and affordable heath care solution.
- The majority of clinics provide fracture care.
- Insurance also covers many health clinic visits.
- One clinic advantage is cost savings.
- Nearly 45.7% of clinics open by 9:00 am on Saturdays.
- Statistics show that 31.1% of health clinics are open on Sunday.