Just when your seven year old son was getting to the point of liking dogs, the neighbor’s dog bit him.
Your son has always been deathly afraid of dogs, so six weeks ago you got a small pup for your family. Your son was getting to the point where he could play with dog and not be scared. Visiting the neighbor, however, turned into a disaster. Their big dog came out of nowhere and bit your son on the lip.
Fortunately, there was an urgent care center just a few minutes away. And while you considered going to the emergency room you decided that the near by urgent care would be the better solution. Even more fortunate was the fact that the on call physician at the walk in clinic had done a rotation where he spent a lot of time completing stitches and and dealing with both bites and burns. So, as it turned out, on this particular day the urgent care was the perfect decision.
Whether you are looking for stitches after a dog bite or a flu shot at the beginning of the cold and flu season, an urgent care visit is often the most affordable, reliable, and convenient decision.
Urgent Care Locations Are a Great Source of Health Care for Many People
A urgent care treatment center is more convenient than having to wait for an appointment at a family physician or pediatrician’s office, and it is infinitely more affordable than a stop at a hospital emergency room. The latest research shows that as many as 3 million patients visit urgent care centers each week, according to the Urgent Care Association of America. The fact that there are currently 20,000 physicians who practice Urgent Care Medicine today is one of the reasons that this is often the wisest health care decision to make. In addition, as many as 85% of urgent care centers are open seven days a week, so you can get the help that you need, even on the weekend.
No one want to deal with a dog bite and no one wants to have get an ankle x-rayed, but if you do it makes sense to go for the most affordable and efficient care that is available.