Should I Use An Urgent Care Facility Instead of The ER?
You wake up in the morning to your little 15 month old baby boy crying. The rosy cheeks and hot tears running down his face let you know that something is wrong. You take his temperature and your fears are confirmed; he has a fever of 104 degrees.
The thought of an Emergency Room (ER) bill makes you shudder, but you want to make sure your baby boy gets better. You then remember a mother at school telling you about the local urgent care center. This sounds like the perfect time to try it out; and the doctor confirms your baby boy has strep throat all within an hour of waking up.
Over 66% or urgent care facilities open before 9:00 a.m. during the week, 45.7% do so on Saturdays, and 31.3% do on Sundays. 90.6% these same care centers stay open until 7:00 p.m. or later on weeknights, and two out of five care centers are open until 9:00 p.m. or later. Once you have arrived at the care center, 57% of patients wait 15 minutes or less to be seen and will have a visit of 60 minutes or less 80% of the time, according to a survey by The Urgent Care Association of America.
Many people are opting for urgent care instead of the ER or other doctor offices. They are fast and can provide most of the same services that a regular doctor office could provide, such as electronic prescriptions and lab and image results.
Urgent care centers are great facilities for people who do not have time to wait for their doctors appointment, and do not want to spend large amounts of money on an ER bill. With urgent care, you are able to walk in with no appointment made, be seen right away, and have a quick visit to determine your illness.