Chances are you will need to go to the emergency room or urgent care center at least once in your lifetime (if you haven’t gone already). If (well, more like when) the time comes, the question will be whether to go to the ER or an urgent care center. It is always advised to go to an ER for a life threatening injury or condition. For all other issues that need medical attention, urgent care clinics offer a more affordable and convenient way of receiving treatment.
To better illustrate why this is, here are three advantages to choosing an emergency clinic over an ER:
- It’s Cheaper: Urgent care costs is by far one of the more popular incentives for choosing an emergency clinic over an ER. For the same treatment, a patient can stand to save anywhere between $228 to $583 by going to a urgent care unit rather than an ER. Clinics also tend to have flexible payment options as well as deals for patients who lack health insurance.
- It’s Quicker: Anyone who’s been to an ER during peak hours know just how long the wait can be, and when you have a broken arm, the wait can be more than just boring! Urgent care typically has lower waiting times. On average, 69% of emergency clinics have a wait time of less than 20 minutes; 28% have a time between 21 and 40 minutes, and only 3% have a time longer than 40 minutes.
- It’s Just as Good as an ER: Outside of trauma services that only an ER can provide, urgent care offers virtually the same services. Nearly 70% of urgent care units have intravenous (IV) fluids in supply, and about half of them offer prescription drugs right at the clinic, making a trip to the pharmacy unnecessary.
For more information about urgent care services, feel free to leave a comment or question at the bottom.
