Having a sick child is no fun, but the situation is even more upsetting when the child is sick after hours. What happens when you cannot take your child to the doctor in the evening, early morning or on the weekend? In many cases, parents take their children to the hospital emergency room when they cannot visit their regular doctor. However, this not only results in great expense, it may also eat up valuable time as parents and sick children sit for hours in emergency waiting rooms. There is a better way to cope with urgent medical care: the urgent care clinic.
Why Is An Urgent Care Clinic Better?
Urgent medical care clinics treat walk-in patients quickly and efficiently. They serve anyone, whether the individual is covered by an insurance plan or not. They provide immediate access to highly-skilled doctors, nurses and physician’s assistants who can help parents with children who are ill or injured.
Because urgent care clinics treat patients outside of most doctor’s office hours, parents who work or whose child becomes sick over the weekend can visit the urgent care clinic at a convenient time and find the same great care for their children that they would get from a doctor’s office.
Urgent care clinics cost less than hospital emergency rooms and often have shorter wait times. Using the urgent care clinic clear the emergency room out for true “emergencies” that require immediate and intensive treatment.
What Kind Of Care Can Parents Find At An Urgent Care Clinic?
Urgent care clinics offer almost any type of care found at a doctor’s office and may even offer more services than a typical clinic. Some of the common services found at an urgent care clinic include:
Burns and Other Injuries
Urgent care centers can be a parent’s first line of defense for minor emergencies such as burns or other treatable injuries. If an urgent care center is not qualified to treat an emergency the child will be sent to a hospital; however, most urgent care centers can handle a surprising number of emergencies, including providing x-rays for broken bones.
Stitches
Children often fall, are bitten by an animal or have some other trauma that requires stitches. An urgent care clinic can provide not only stitches but disinfecting and treatment of all wounds so that no infection occurs.
Treatment for Colds, Flu and Common Illnesses
Children often have allergic reactions to pollen, colds and flu symptoms that require treatment such as antibiotics or other medications. Urgent care clinic professionals can determine if a child has chicken pox or a cold, if he or she needs over-the-counter or prescription medications, and if further treatment is necessary. Ear aches, stomach aches and coughs are all easily treated at an urgent care clinic.
Well-Baby Checkups and Children’s Physicals
Urgent care clinics can be used for “well” visits as well as sick visits, allowing parents to go after work to take children for checkups.
Almost any type of care necessary can be found at an urgent care clinic. Parents who are pressed by tight schedules and weekend illnesses can find fast, effective and budget-conscious treatment through urgent care centers.
