A Faster and More Affordable Emergency Treatment Option
According the the Urgent Care Association of America, urgent care facilities across the United States serve approximately three million patients each week. Still, this is not nearly enough to keep hospital emergency rooms from becoming overcrowded with patients needing minor treatment for less serious conditions and illnesses.
Along with immediate care and home health services, urgent care centers are among the newer health care choices for folks looking for alternatives to hospital care. Although urgent care facilities are gaining popularity among the American masses, it seems that many people seeking urgent medical care are yet to discover them. In fact, around 20% of hospital emergency room patients could be treated just as competently at an urgent care facility.
While that may not be enough to convince more people to choose urgent cares over hospital emergency rooms, perhaps the time and cost savings will. This is because nearly 60% of urgent care patients are treated within the first 15 minutes of their arrival; and 80% of all urgent care patients can expect to see a doctor within the same hour they walk through the door!
Although fast treatment is a considerable perk, most patients will probably appreciate the affordability even more. Statistics show that the cost of the average urgent care visit is about 10% of the cost of seeking treatment at a hospital emergency room. This means that almost anyone can finally have access to high-quality emergency medical care without worrying about a huge bill from the local hospital emergency room.
If you experience an injury or illness that is too minor for the hospital emergency room, yet too serious for home health services, an urgent care center is probably your best option. Considering the fast treatment and affordability, you simply cannot go wrong.
