When individuals and their families require medical attention during the weekend or after regular business hours, they often choose to visit the hospital emergency room. A large percentage of these visits, however, could be handled at a medical urgent care facility instead. These facilities see a large number of patients on a weekly basis. One out of every five, for example, have reported over 450 patient visits every week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently noted that 48% of the adults that visited the emergency room weren’t admitted to the hospital. This was because their condition wasn’t serious enough to warrant admission. It’s important to note that the main reason for these visits was due to the patients’ primary care physicians’ offices being closed. Given this, medical urgent care centers are a convenient alternative to traditional hospital emergency room visits when someone’s situation isn’t severe.

There are several benefits to using urgent care services. Medical urgent care centers have extended hours of operation, and some are conveniently open on both Saturdays and Sundays. Patients can also be seen during normal business hours.

In addition to waiting for just 15 minutes or less to see an on-site physician or physician’s assistant, appointments generally last for up to an hour. The Urgent Care Association of America’s survey found that 57% of patients only needed to wait for 15 minutes or less to be seen, and approximately 80% of the total number of visits lasted for an hour or less.

Another important benefit of visiting an urgent care center is that 65% of these facilities always have an on-site physician available. In general, these facilities provide a wide range of services, from treating fractures to providing intravenous fluids. Preventative care is also available, which includes regular health check-ups and flu vaccinations.

it’s not unusual for some individuals to choose one of these urgent care locations for their primary care. This is especially the case when they’re conveniently located near their home or place of employment. If you haven’t sought treatment at an urgent care clinic yet, you may want to visit one near you to learn about all of the services that they can provide. This can be helpful to know in case you require treatment or preventative care at some point in the future.