Have You Visited an Advanced Urgent Care Clinic in the Last Year?

It was a simple stop for coffee. Driving Interstate 49 south from Shreveport to Lafayette, you and your husband decided to stop in the Christmas City of Louisiana, Natchitoches, to visit the historic front street. As you were walking down the brick pathway admiring the quaint scenery, your husband turned his ankle on a loose brick and fell to the ground. After making it to the car, you both knew that this brief coffee stop was going to take a little longer than expected. Luckily, even this small town had an advanced urgent care office that had a doctor on staff and a newly installed x-ray machine. The film showed a bad sprain, but not a break, and you were on the road again before lunch.
Whether you are looking for an urgent care in Colorado Springs, Colorado, or in Natchitoches, Louisiana, the convenience of a 24 hour clinic with qualified staff comes in handy. According to the Urgent Care Association of America, the U.S. has nearly 9,000 urgent care centers. They see, on average, 342 patient visits every single week. From sprained to broken ankles, to school physicals and flu shots, these clinics are the healthcare solution for many busy families.
A walk in clinic obviously provides the flexibility of not needing an appointment, but also provides the experience of advanced urgent care staff that can diagnose, write prescriptions, and suggest the best follow-up advice. While family physicians and pediatricians often require appointments to be scheduled days or even months in advance, an advanced urgent care clinic allows you to just stop in, but still see qualified staff. In fact, more than 95% of these urgent care clinics have full time physicians on staff. Whether you are looking for an orthopedic doctor to diagnosis a possible broken arm, or a general physician to determine whether or not your child has chicken pox, these centers offer many advantages.
In addition to a flexible schedule, another great advantage to visiting an advanced urgent care clinic is cost. While emergency room visits are very expensive, the cost of a quick care visit can be as much as $200 to $500 less. Additionally, since 69% of these care centers have a wait time of less than 20 minutes, you also save time away from work.
The time and monetary savings add up for this healthcare industry that is set to see significant growth in the next 10 years. Research indicates that by the year 2015, America will need as many as 52,000 additional primary care physicians. While many of these practicing doctors will be at hospitals and traditional offices, a significant portion will also be at urgent clinics providing immediate and affordable care.