For those who are without medical insurance, going to see a doctor can become more than a hassle – it can even all too easily become an impossibility. This is also often the case for those who do not have the ability to take time off of work to schedule a doctor’s appointment. With the vast majority of general practitioner’s offices open only during typical work hours, finding the time for a doctor’s appointment becomes very difficult for many people living in the United States. Unfortunately, this often means that many people have no choice but to seek medical care in an emergency room. As many of us know, emergency rooms are not designed for smaller medical concerns and are often hugely expensive and time consuming. That they have become a primary medical option for many is a problem that the whole country faces.

Fortunately, urgent care center locations are helping to provide accessible medical care to millions across the United States, serving as many as three million people in the span of just one week. With twenty thousand doctors currently employed in urgent care locations around the country, medical care is accessible even for those who have busy schedules. This is also due to the fact that urgent care centers are typically open far later than traditional doctor’s offices and many even open earlier in the morning as well. For those that work during the week, an urgent care center is ideal as the vast majority – over eighty percent – have weekend hours as well. The typical urgent care clinic also provides far less expensive medical treatment, with the typical visit averaging only around one hour in total, with more than sixty percent of all medical clinics having only a fifteen minute or so wait time. In comparison, an emergency room wait time is likely to range from anywhere to forty five minutes to an hour.

Many various medical conditions can be treated in an urgent care setting as well, from the very minor to the more serious. When it comes to minor illnesses and injuries, respiratory infections and the need for wound repair are the most commonly seen concerns in a medical clinic setting. Conditions like poison ivy – of which around eighty five percent of all Americans are allergic to – and the common cold – of which there are more than one billion in just one year – are also often seen. Urinary tract infections can also be diagnosed in such a medical clinic, and patients with a UTI (urinary tract infection) can be prescribed antibiotics and monitored if necessary. As there are more than eight million such infections diagnosed in a year, this is a concern that an urgent care doctor is more than equipped to deal with.

But urgent care centers can treat more serious conditions as well, often in the realm of injuries. Ankle sprains are commonly seen at such clinics, with more than twenty five thousand of them diagnosed a day. Ankle sprains are easily treated, but should be checked out by a medical professional when sustained, just in case. Fractures can also often be treated at such medical clinics, with around eighty percent of all clinics having the tools needed to make a diagnosis and provide treatment.

Urgent care provides more treatment than people realize, from the serious conditions to the mundane ones. They provide an affordable solution to the emergency room and will accept patients even if they are uninsured.