Why Urgent Care Is Usually The Better Choice
Are you not feeling so hot? Whether you are sick or injured, you may reach a point where you decide that medical treatment from a professional is necessary. But when it comes to choosing where you get that care, there are multiple options available. You could, of course, reach out to your primary care doctor and the emergency room is always open. But there's another option that might offer significant benefits that you have not considered and that's getting treated at an urgent care facility. Here's why reaching out to an urgent care provider might be the better choice for you at this time.
Better for Your Budget
Healthcare of any kind can be expensive. An urgent care facility will most likely be less expensive than getting the same problem treated in an emergency room. In some cases and depending on how your insurance works, it might even be better for your budget to get treated at an urgent care center instead of going to your primary doctor. If you know you need medical help but you are struggling financially, an urgent care center can get you the help you need without setting you back until your next paycheck.
Better for Your Schedule
An emergency room is always open, but unless your injury is life-threatening, you may find yourself waiting in line behind other patients. It's possible that you could even get bumped to the back of the line after sitting in the waiting room for a while if someone like a gunshot victim comes in and needs immediate help. Primary care physicians can typically let you schedule an appointment for a specific time, but do they have hours available that will fit your work schedule? What if you have to go pick up your kids at a certain time?
With urgent care, you typically will not have a long wait to get seen like with some emergency rooms and you can just walk right in anytime you need to without scheduling an appointment like at the doctor's office. Your urgent care center is also likely to have longer hours than your main doctor's office.
The fact that you don't need an appointment, the fact that you'll likely spend less time waiting around, and the fact that it might save you money are all good reasons why you should look into going to your local urgent care center the next time you need medical help.
Contact a local urgent care clinic if you have more questions.
