Free Health Clinics And Their Growing Popularity
Due to the business of our daily lives and the climbing prices of healthcare, it can sometimes seem easy to put off going to the doctor, especially when your issue in question can be brushed off as “not serious”. Unfortunately, that attitude often leads to a minor ailment becoming a major one, sending you straight to the emergency room. Yet even the emergency room involves waiting, sometimes for hours … compared to the wait time of less than 15 minutes offered by 60% of all urgent care facilities. Not only does the average emergency walk in clinic have low wait times; but 65% of them have a physician on … site at all times, making them an increasingly popular alternative to the emergency room.
The Emergency Walk In Clinic: A Needed Alternative
Since 2008, there has been a growth in urgent care facilities, with the number jumping from 8,000 to 9,300. The reason why an emergency walk in clinic is such a positive alternative to the emergency room has to do with two factors: money and time. From 2003 to 2009, the average wait time for emergency room care rose form 46.5 minutes to 58.1 minutes, and the average cost for one or more emergency room visits in 2009 was $1,318. This simple doesn’t work for everyone, especially for those who need family health care.
A Free Walk In Clinic Provides Quality Care
The great thing about urgent care facilities is that they provide the same level of care as a doctor’s office or emergency room, but without the high costs. After hours urgent care centers often have physicians working during their “off hours”, and those working at these clinics who aren’t physicians are qualified clinicians. Furthermore, you can be assured that should you have a problem that is too serious for the clinic to handle, you will be referred to a hospital.
The Convenience Of A Free Health Clinic
Families in particular end up visiting a doctor often throughout the year, especially once the kids are old enough to go to school. Many urgent care facilities offer back … to … school vaccines and the occasional blood tests. This way, parents can know that their children won’t be coming down with the flu when it makes its inevitable way through the school halls.
Guaranteed Privacy
There are many health issues that people would rather handle privately, particularly when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases and infections. Free health clinics often offer confidential STD testing, which is desperately needed. The option of free STD testing, with total privacy, encourages more people to be tested in the first place, thus lessening the rate of infection.
Ultimately, free health clinics a great thing to take advantage of. Whether you need testing done or require vaccines before returning to school, you know that you’re getting great care without the high cost.