Wait times in an emergency room make it difficult for anyone to receive urgent medical care. A heart attack, broken bone, or internal bleeding can’t wait 3 to 4 hours to be treated. For this reason, many people are turning to urgent cares clinics to provide them with the care they need. Urgent care facilities are gaining in popularity because patients can simply walk-in and be treated. Some clinics offer after hours care which can be helpful because less than 30% of primary care physicians provide patients with after hour treatment. Some urgent care facilities even have 24 hr urgent care for patients. For this reason, these clinics see almost 3 million patients a week.
Not only are local urgent care clinics open late, they are also an affordable option to the emergency room. The average emergency room trip can cost nearly $1500 for the most basic treatment, whereas urgent care costs only a small fraction of the price — sometimes less than $150. With these numbers, it is no surprise that urgent care centers contribute $14 billion in revenue in the U.S.
Affordable care in the decent time frame is not always possible in the ER. Depending on the city, an ambulance ride alone can be upwards of $500. X-rays for any broken bones can cost as much as $1,000, which does not include the cost of any additional treatment. Finding a way to navigate through hoards of people who flock to the ER daily can be frustrating, but locating urgent cares providers that give discounts and allow walk-ins present families with another viable option. For more information, read this website.