Many unforeseen accidents and emergencies often occur during nights, weekends, and holidays, when it is often not possible to find doctors after hours. While many individuals turn to emergency rooms in order to receive after hours care, there are many reasons for individuals with minor injuries or medical issues to visit urgent care facilities in order to receive fast and efficient heath care at an affordable price.
Urgent Care Centers Operate After Hours and are Cost-Effective
One of the most important features of urgent care facilities is that they have doctors after hours. A primary reason that many illnesses and injuries are perceived as an emergency situation is that they occur during times when individuals cannot be treated by their primary health care provider due to the fact that they are closed on nights, weekends, and certain holidays. Many urgent care facilities are available to treat patients during these times.
This is not only convenient for patients who acquire minor ailments at inconvenient times, but as emergency rooms will often treat minor injuries with a variety of sometimes unnecessary tests and lab work, urgent care facilities are only able to treat minor issues and are, therefore, more cost-effective as patients will not need to pay for any extraneous medical tests that may be required in emergency rooms.
Urgent Care Centers are Less Crowded
Many hospital emergency rooms become crowded after hours due to the fact that individuals become ill or injured during a time when their primary health care provider is not open for business. These hospitals will often become flooded with patients seeking care from minor cold symptoms to life-threatening issues. This makes for longer wait times, which can lead to, in many cases, a more severe injury for those individuals with life-threatening issues.
When those individuals seeking care for minor injuries and illnesses visit their local urgent care center, this not only awards them with faster services, but it frees space in emergency rooms in order to quicker treat those people whose issues require immediate medical attention.
Urgent Care Centers Offer Efficient Services
As many urgent care facilities are only equipped to provide services such as x-rays, blood and lab work, and stitches, they are often not met with same high demand as emergency rooms. This not only allows doctors and other medical professionals to administer these services more quickly and efficiently, but as a result of the specific and minor nature of the injuries, doctors can treat a larger number of patients with non-life-threatening emergencies at a time.
When it comes to treating minor emergencies after hours, such as sprains and stitches, it is wise for individuals to have the name and location their local urgent care facility on-hand in order to receive fast and affordable treatment that does not necessitate the services of an emergency room. This not only results in more efficient treatment, but it frees doctors in emergency rooms to treat more patients with life-threatening medical issues.
